


One Day At A Time

by lauren2381



Category: SEAL Team (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-08 00:27:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 72,934
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26756491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lauren2381/pseuds/lauren2381
Summary: Follow Emma and Clay as the navigate their lives, one day at a time
Relationships: Emma Hayes/Clay Spenser, Lisa Davis/Sonny Quinn, Mandy Ellis & Jason Hayes
Comments: 48
Kudos: 100





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> So... we meet again.  
> I realized quite recently that I didn't love my stories as much as I did when they were first published and that they all needed a massive overhaul, and this is that fic. You'll recognized some of the story, but much of it will be changed and worked around, but it's still the same Emma and Clay that you know and love. I hope you'll take the chance and re-read and comment if you can pick up on the changes that I've made.  
> Each and every comment brings me so much joy, stay safe wherever you are and happy reading.

It was a warm summer day and Emma was enjoying the sunshine, cool breeze, and the family that surrounded her to celebrate her eighteenth birthday. Her dad was home for her birthday for the first time in three years and had brought the men that she had called ‘uncle’ for her entire life. Uncle Brock was playing fetch with Cerb and laughing with Mikey, Uncle Sonny was trying to charm the pants off of Aunt Lisa, Uncle Trent and Uncle Ray were flipping burgers, and Dad was sweet-talking her mom to try and sneak a swipe of icing before they cut the cake. Life was good, Emma was happy with a sunny smile fixed on her face.

Throughout her scanning of the backyard, she counted one more head than normal, and had to rack her brain for the name of the new guy on Bravo. Payton? Andy? She knew it ended in an ‘-ay’ but couldn’t for the life of her remember what his name was. Either way, the man looked miserable. He was sitting next to Sonny and Davis, but they were clearly not trying to fit him into the conversation. Emma wasn’t stupid, she knew that her Uncle Sonny could be a prickly bear when he wanted to be, but this man was his brother, surely that meant that he could include him in a conversation? Normally Emma didn’t give a shit who the men on her dad’s team were, aside from the ones that had cemented their place in her life. 

But something about the way this guy didn’t try to fit in or insert himself intrigued Emma. Normally team guys were eager to show off, let other people know that they were SEALS or that they had gone through BUDS. _Fuck what is his name?_ Emma thought to herself, trying to think if her dad had mentioned him anywhere, drawing a blank aside from “the kid”. Whoever this ‘kid’ was, all six feet two, muscled, operator wasn’t like the other team guys that she had met before and, to tell the truth, Emma wasn’t sure that it was a good thing. If they couldn’t even manage to talk to themselves off base, how the hell do they do it when they’re being shot at? It didn’t make any sense to her and the more she thought about it, the deeper the pit in her stomach sank, despite the happiness of the day. In her musings, she didn’t realize that someone had stepped up next to her until she felt her mother’s hand on her shoulder.

“You alright Emmie? You look worried.”

“I’m fine, I just…” She trailed off, not sure how to phrase that she was worried about one of her father’s team members, and someone that was at least five years her senior, if not older.

“Just what Em?” Alana looked into her daughter’s eyes and saw the same gentle concern that she had seen in Jason’s eyes when he looked at her for the first time all those years ago. Following Emma’s gaze, she saw the sullen looking blonde man staring at the bottle of beer that he had been nursing for the last hour.

“You worried about Clay?” Alana knew that pushing her daughter was never the answer, she’d clam up faster than her father, but it was the girl’s birthday after all, she shouldn’t be concerned about something that was out of her control.

“He just looks unhappy mama” Unable to look at her mother, she stared at the man and watched as Sonny and Davis laughed, seeing the frown grow deeper on his face.

“Why don’t we try and fix that then?” Emma looked up at her mother and saw the impish grin that she had on her face. “Go into the kitchen, I’ll grab him and hopefully we can get him to look at least a little happier.”

Seeing Emma’s face rise with hope, Alana hoped that she was making the right choice. Emma was a lot like her when she was younger, full of fire and grace, but tempered with Jason’s decision making skills. Once upon a time, she remembered seeing Jason for the first time and being just as concerned for his happiness as Emma was for Clay. Striding down the back steps into the yard, she stopped in between Sonny and Davis as they were trying to catch their breath after laughing over a story from Sonny’s wild youth.

“Sorry to bother you, but do you mind if I borrow Clay here for a minute? Emma and I need a hand with something in the kitchen?” Alana smiled sweetly at Sonny and internally grinned in mirth when he jumped, noticing Clay sitting beside him and Lisa.

“Hey there ‘lana, sure you can take the pretty boy over there” Sonny laughed nervously, knowing that Alana didn’t tolerate nastiness in her household, brotherhood was present long after the OP was finished and the papers were signed and that meant that in her presence, Sonny had to at least be civil to the new kid.

“Clay?” Alana gently prompted.

“Oh yeah sure, that’s fine” Clay got up and left his practically untouched bottle of beer on the table next to Sonny and followed Alana into the kitchen, where Emma was struggling to lift more cases of beer from the fridge to the counter.

“Hey Birthday Girl, shouldn’t someone else be doing that?” Clay joked to Emma before turning back towards where Alana was standing, only to find her missing. Clay stood awkwardly in the middle of the kitchen, scratching the back of his head. He barely knew Alana, and knew even less about his Master Chief’s daughter, but yet no one else was to be found and he wasn’t just going to _ignore_ the girl, especially on her birthday. She really couldn’t be any less intimidating than sitting next to Sonny and Lisa and pretending to be engrossed in their stories. 

“Yeah but you try and tell the boys of Bravo that they should come and find their own beer. I think there would be mutiny if we ever ran out.” Emma grunted as she lost her grip on the last case of beer, but before the rest could tumbled out of her arms, Clay scrambled and managed to only lose one can of beer. Seeing the rolling cooler filled with ice, Clay and Emma stood side by side as they filled the cooler with beer.

Emma was nervous. She didn’t know this man well enough to be having this conversation, but at the same time, she worried. She needed to know that this new guy would have her dad’s back, even if he didn’t speak with him.“Clay?”

“Yeah Emma?”

Emma looked up at him from underneath her lashes, thinking about how she was going to ask if Clay was planning on speaking to anyone before they deployed when she got a good look at his face. Deep blue eyes surrounded by deep smudges, a frown pulling at his lips. _Maybe you shouldn’t jump so quickly to conclusions, ask before you accuse the man of anything._ “Can I ask you a question? You don’t have to answer it though, I’m just being nosy.” She rambled a little bit and stopped putting beer in the cooler before her face turned red and she ducked her chin. Clay looked up at her and was stunned for a minute, bright blue eyes, curled blonde hair, and flushed red cheeks made an adorable picture.“Go ahead Em, you can ask me. I might not be able to answer though depending on what it is.” Clay didn’t know what was going to come out of her mouth, or what she could possibly want to know about him. He was a guy on her dad’s team, maybe she was trying to get some information about her dad out of him. What did come out of her mouth shocked the shit out of him, enough so that he couldn’t even control his reaction.

“Are you ok? You look… sad” Clay looked into her eyes and saw the genuine concern shining through and couldn’t stop himself before a tear rolled down his cheeks. Abandoning all semblance of putting more beer into a cooler, Emma wrapped her arms around him and hugged him while he tried to gain his composure.

Not once had any of his brothers asked him if he was ok, they all just assumed that he was quiet, that he didn’t want to make a fuss and didn’t pry further. 

But Emma asked and actually wanted to know an answer that was different from the standard ‘I’m fine’. Clay couldn’t help the single tear that had rolled down his cheek, but instead of beer cans filling his arms, he now had Emma holding on for dear life and for the first time since Brian died, he took a deep breath.

* * *

* * *

Looking in on Emma and Clay from behind the kitchen door, Alana was shocked when with one question Emma got him to open up. In her experience frogmen were tough cookies to crack and didn’t like showing emotion. _Maybe Emma was a frogman whisperer,_ Alana thought to herself. She was able to talk with any of the men on Bravo and have them respond to her, but never one so soon, with such a visceral response. 

“What are you looking at?” Jason whispered, thinking that once again his wife was spying on her daughter, who was much too grown up as of recently.

“Don’t get upset” Alana spun in his arms and pushed her pointed finger into his chest. “I put Emma up to this because she was worried. I think it’s going to be a good thing. She needs people in her life that understand”

“What are you talking about ‘lana?”

She just pointed and followed Jason’s gaze towards where Emma and Clay were still standing in one another’s embrace.

“You want me to be happy that one of my men is hugging our daughter?” Jason whispered yelled incredulously “And one that only just got drafted and is five years _older_ than her!”

“No. I want you to realize that your men haven’t been paying attention to their brother, but our daughter has been and she’s only known the man for an hour, what does that say about how all of you have been treating him?. Let him get this off his chest, Jay, I think they both need this.” They stood silently watching them for a moment longer before Jason broke the silence once more.

“What do you mean she needs someone who understands Alana? Is she ok?”

“She’s fine, she just, her friends have parents in the Navy but it’s different with you being a SEAL. If she can find more people that understand what it’s like that she can confide in, I’m not going to put a stop to that. She needs people Jay.” Seeing her husband’s look of disbelief, she put her hand on his cheek and looked into his eyes. “Do you trust me?”

“Always ‘lana” His voice softened as he looked at the woman who had given him his pride and joy.

“Then leave it be, come outside with me and help me wrangle Mikey into getting her birthday present out. They’ll be fine” Jason and Alana walked out hand in hand, sneaking past Clay and Emma who didn’t even notice them giggling like school children.

* * *

* * *

Clay pressed his face into the blonde’s sweet smelling hair and took a deep breath. Then another. And when he felt that he was calm enough, he lifted his head up and stared at her face, expecting to see pity or disgust. All he saw was kindness.

“I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that you’re not ok.” Emma stated matter of factly. “You don’t have to tell me about it if you don’t want to, your business can stay your business if you want.” She went back to putting beer in the cooler to give herself some time to collect herself after being surrounded in Clay’s embrace.

“I… lost a friend of mine. A few weeks ago.”

Emma grabbed his hand and squeezed, silently urging him to continue. “And being drafted onto Bravo is one of the best things that have happened but-”

“It’s hard because you feel like everyone knows something that you don’t know and you have no way of finding out what that is because no one wants to let you in on the secret?”

“Yeah.” Clay was properly surprised. He didn’t know that Emma was more perceptive than she let on. Then again being the daughter of a SEAL had to leave some marks.

“Where’s your phone?” Clay swung his eyes back up to her face, again confused at what the girl was thinking. “I’m going to give you my phone number, when you think that you can’t tell the guys something or you’re stuck inside your head, just text me. I can’t promise that I’ll always be able to respond right away, but I will respond.”

Clay handed over his phone and watched in amazement as she put her contact into his phone as Emmie K with a purple heart. She handed back his phone, finished putting the last of the beer in the cooler, and gave Clay one more quick hug before dragging the cooler out to the yard, leaving Clay standing awestruck in his boss’s kitchen.

The first time that Emma received a text message from Clay she was sitting on her bed surrounded by textbooks and a mug of cold coffee, desperately trying to understand Trigonometry before her exam tomorrow morning. Her phone pinged and any thought of studying went out the window.

**Clay Spenser**

Hey! It’s Clay from Bravo, I’m not sure if you’re awake or what time it is at home, but uh, you said that I could text you if I needed you and I do. Sorry if this woke you.

**Emmie K**

Hi! I’m still awake, whats up

She shot off the message quickly, knowing that something must have happened for Clay to have reached out voluntarily. It had been so long since she had given him her number that she was half afraid that he was never going to reach out to her.

**Clay Spenser**

I can’t tell you what happened, but I had to take a shot, the girl was your age

Emma’s breath caught in her throat. She knew that they used weapons in their job, she wasn’t stupid. But to shoot someone that was her age wasn’t something she wanted to think about. Another message pinged through.

**Clay Spenser**

Had a nightmare that it was you

**Emmie K**

Clay, I’m home, I’m safe. You made the right call.

**Clay Spenser**

How do you know that? You can’t possibly know that for sure

**Emmie K**

I know because I know you. You wouldn’t have shot that girl if you could help it and you wouldn’t have done it in cold blood. 

I’m home, I’m safe

I’m right here with you, it wasn’t me, and it wasn’t your fault

Emma didn’t get a reply for a long time, and she fell asleep on her books with her phone still in hand. When Alana came in to check on her the next morning, there was an unread message from Clay, and she smiled gently. She knew her baby well.

The next time Emma got a text from Clay it was again out of the blue. The pair had been texting off and on about little inconsequential things, but never about missions or details. Only about things like Emma’s love for peanut butter and banana sandwiches and Clay’s distaste for red gatorade. Or how Clay didn’t really love beer, but drank it to be social with the guys on the team. Or how Emma missed her dad terribly, but never knew how to tell him. Clay confided in her more than anyone else, even Sonny. The boys had worked through their rocky start and were now thick as thieves, but even so, Clay trusted Emma more, which is why reaching out to her when he was scared came natural as breathing.

**Clay Spenser**

Emmie K? 

Clay was half afraid that Emma would be sleeping and that he would be left with his thoughts rattling around in his head, but as soon as he put his phone down it pinged.

**Emmie K**

Clay? What’s wrong?

**Clay Spenser**

How’d you know something was up?

Why are you still awake? Isn’t it like three in the morning over there?

**Emmie K**

Yeah, it’s three am and you know that, hence why something’s up

I’m fine, stop deflecting, just can’t sleep

**Clay Spenser**

Another nightmare?

**Emmie K**

Yes, but you didn’t text me at three in the morning to talk about my nightmares

What’s going on?

**Clay Spenser**

You could’ve texted me about your nightmare Em

**Emmie K**

Yes, I could have, but that still doesn’t negate the fact that something’s up

Talk to me Clay

Apparently when Clay didn’t respond right away, his phone started to ring and a picture of her smiling face popped up on the screen. Clay barely had time to put his phone to his ear before her shaking voice came over the phone.

“Clay? Are you alright? Are you hurt? What’s happening? Talk to me!”

“Em I’m trying but you’re not really giving me a lot of room to talk here. Everything is fine. I had a close call.” Clay tried to soothe Emma through his words and his tone but she was having none of that.

“How close?” Clay didn’t respond and Emma’s heart jumped and she repeated herself. “How close Clay?”

“I thought I wasn’t going to make my way out of the hole I was stuck in, literally. Thought I was going to break my promise.” After one beer too many, Clay had promised Emma that he would always come back home to annoy her, even if it was the last thing he did.

Emma’s heart fell back into it’s normal rhythm and she felt herself relax. Clay was ok, he was still breathing but a little scared. She could deal with that. “I’m right here, you made it out Clay, that’s all that matters.”

“Stay on the phone with me?” Clay hated feeling weak, but just being near the blonde, even though it was over the phone, brought him comfort that he didn’t even know that he needed.

“Of course.” Emma got herself settled back into bed and started to sing gently. It wasn’t long before she heard his breathing evened out and she followed suit, once again holding onto her phone for the entire night.

The next morning, Alana came in to check on her daughter and found her still on the phone with Clay, and she smiled, but also knew that this could be a problem that she had to talk to Jay about.

* * *

* * *

Clay felt a very strange sense of deja vu as he was once again sitting in Jason’s kitchen, but this time he wasn’t stacking beer into a cooler, he was grieving the loss of the woman that had welcomed him into her family with open arms. Scanning the room, he saw Mikey sitting next to Sonny who was trying to get him to open up with a few jokes. Saw Jason outside with Ray next to the old car out on the street. Looked around again, but still didn’t see Emma. He wandered around the house, checking the normal spots where she liked to hang out, even checked upstairs in her mother’s room, but still didn’t find her. Knocked on her door and peaked in, still no sign of Emma. As he was walking down the stairs, he ran into Jason.

“Kid, have you seen Em?” Jason was bone tired, but wouldn’t be able to settle down till he knew that his children were being taken care of. His brothers had left, and now it was up to him to make sure that his family stayed together.

“I haven’t, I was looking for her. I’m worried.” Clay took a risk and was completely honest with his boss. He couldn’t be sure, but he thought that Alana had at least told Jason some of what was going on between him and his daughter, but they had never officially addressed it. Guess there was no time like the present

Jason sized the kid up, looked in his eyes and saw the worry lurking behind the bravado. There were days when he swore that Emma and the kid were more than what Alana was telling him they were, but could never prove it. This was proof enough that the Kid wanted it to be more, and Jason was ok with that. Or was trying to be. “When you find her, bring her home.” With that he walked up the stairs past Clay. That was blessing enough for now, when the Kid wanted to actually do something about those feelings, he could come talk to him himself.

Clay blinked once, twice and then he nodded, heading out to the backyard. The stillness of the afternoon was shattered by the soft sniffles coming from the porch swing and Clay felt like the biggest idiot in the world. Emma wouldn’t have gone far, but needed a place to privately have a moment. The backyard was far enough away that no one would come looking for her, but close enough that she could be near Mikey. 

Clay stood in the doorway and watched Emma for a moment, thinking about what he could even begin to say to her that would make this better. Sitting down next to her, he pulled her into his arms and held her close until her tears started to slow and she could mimic his breathing. Clay felt her moving on his chest and looked down at her, saw the pain in her eyes, and was overcome with the urge to try and take that pain away, any way that he could. He started to lean down and was inches away from her face before he realized what he was doing and diverted the kiss from her lips to her forehead. They stayed in that embrace for hours before Emma fell asleep and Clay carried her into her house, passed Jason who sat in the kitchen with a beer in hand, and into the living room where he stood watch all night long.

* * *

* * *

Emma Hayes was far from stupid. She knew that there was something brewing between her and Clay Spenser, felt it deep in her heart since the first day when her mother conspired to get the man to smile. Emma tried to keep tabs on him, but sometimes it just wasn’t possible when they went from one spin up to the next and she was trying to keep Mikey in line and do her homework and apply to college and keep the house clean and do all the things that her mother did effortlessly. Her dad had stayed with them for a little bit, but when he got the call that Adam Seaver died, she went with him to notify Hannah’s family and dealt with the wave of emotions that reminded her that her mom would know what to do. 

Driving back to the house with her dad, Emma looked at her phone and noticed that Clay had answered any of her text messages. She knew that Clay and Adam were close, closer than just an instructor and student, and his death had to be hitting him hard, even if he couldn’t talk about the details.

“Emma?” Her father’s voice brought her out of her thoughts and she looked up at him questioningly

“Yeah daddy?” Her gaze focused once again on her phone while she typed out another message to Clay.

“You worried about him?” Her father asked her casually, though she could detect an undercurrent, but couldn’t tell what exactly he was hunting for.

“I’m worried, he’s not answering, he doesn’t do that.” They pulled into the driveway and before Emma could run off to her room, her father pulled her into a hug and looked at her closely.

“Go find out where his head is at Emmie, let me know if you need me.” With that he gave his only daughter the keys to his truck and walked upstairs to his bedroom to try and find something of Alana’s that still smelled of her to remind himself that love blossoming was something to celebrate rather than feared.

Smiling to herself, Emma got back into her father’s truck and sped towards Clay’s apartment, fully expecting to be sitting in front of his door till he got back from whichever bar that Sonny had dragged him to that evening. She knocked on his door, and was surprised when the door swung open and Clay pulled her into his arms. She could feel tears dripping down into her hair. Emma made quiet shushing noises into his chest and walked the pair towards the couch where they sat next to each other. Clay once again pulled her close, and they stayed like that until his tears slowed. Emma lifted her head off of his chest, looked in his eyes, and this time didn’t wait for Clay to lean in, she placed a gentle kiss on his lips and settled back into his chest. The time for conversation would come later.

“Emmie, I…” Emma looked at his stricken face and stroked his face, placing another kiss on his cheek, then resting her forehead on his.

“I know Clay, we need to talk about it, not now though. Just rest, I’m here” Clay settled down and closed his eyes, content that he was safe.

Discreetly Emma pulled out her phone, typed out a quick message to her dad and pulled a blanket off the back of the couch and settled in for the night.

* * *

* * *

The funny thing about life is that it keeps moving. Clay went on another spin up and this time brought the original Bravo One with him. Every now and then he could feel Jason’s eyes on him, especially when he pulled out and smiled at the message that Emma had left for him, but they never spoke a word about it. They went on spin ups, went to the gym together, drank cheap beer, and avoided the conversation like it was their job, until they quite literally couldn’t avoid it anymore.

Sitting in the bar surrounded by his brothers, Clay fiddled with the label on his beer, anxiously checking his phone for what had to have been the fiftieth time that evening. No matter how many times he checked, there were never any notifications and the longer it went the more anxious he became. 

“You got a hot date tonight Kid?” Ray asked, keeping his voice light. He had begun to see the change in Clay and was almost positive that it was a girl. Clay had been pretty tight lipped about the whole thing and no matter how much Sonny taunted and teased, he never gave up a name. Ray had to give it to him, he could keep a secret. 

“Hmm?” Clay started, having zoned out for a moment. He was waiting for Emma to text him after getting home from going out with her friends for the night. He was well aware that Emma could take care of herself, but it was the principle. He wanted to know that she was safe. “No, just waiting to hear from someone.”

“Is this certain someone a lady friend,” Sonny wheedled, grinning at the flush that creeped up over his neck.

“None of your business, Son, I don’t want to talk about it.”

“What’s her name? Is she pretty, a guy like you could do a lot better than some of my lady friends, betcha she’s gotta good rack.”

“That’s enough Son,” Clay said sharply. He knew that they had no idea that they were talking about Emma, but either way he didn’t want them to disrespect her in any way. She was worth more than that to him and they would treat her with the respect that she deserved. 

“Alright, let’s take it easy,” Brock intervened, ever the peacemaker. “Jason, wanna come with me and get another round, I’m empty.”

Jason stood with Brock and went to the bar, keeping a firm eye on the rest of his men. They had been pushing Clay pretty hard about his new lady friend and judging by Clay’s response, it had begun to get serious. “Do you know who this girl is?”

“No idea, I was gonna ask you the same thing,” Brock admitted, shoving cash over the bar top and grabbing the beers. Neither of them saw Clay dashing out with his cellphone pressed tightly to his ear. By the time that they made it to their table, Clay was gone.

“Where’s Clay?”

“His girl called, ran out of here in a hurry. Ya know, I’m starting to think that the Kid’s whipped, no man should run out that quickly.”

“Son, what if something happened? That’s not a fair assumption,” Trent interrupted, rubbing his temples. The two of them had been getting on his nerves for the entirety of their deployment and he didn’t want to listen to any of their stupid barbs anymore. 

“ I’m going to go and see if everything’s ok, I’ll call if I need ya,” Jason said, throwing down a twenty on the table. Jason made his way to the door and watched from the shadows as Clay paced back and forth, talking animatedly on the phone. 

“Emma, Em slow down, talk to me, what happened?”

Jason took a breath, _Emma._ _It has to be a coincidence, wasn’t Alana rambling about how Emma was one of the most popular names in the US?_

“I’m still at the bar with the guys, no I can come get you, it’s fine I wasn’t going to drink much anyways.”

Jason listened, straining to hear the other voice on the line. All he could make out was that it was female, but he knew that anyways. 

“Yeah, I’m on my way, just hang tight. Ten minutes tops.”

Jason watched Clay hang up the phone and fish out his keys, jogging to his truck. He waited until he had pulled out of the parking lot before stepping out of the shadows. The Kid was fine, he didn’t need anyone inserting themselves into places they didn’t belong. 

Climbing into his own truck, Jason took the long way home. It was nights like these that he wished Alana was waiting at home for him and that he could tell her that he loved her one more time. On autopilot, Jason didn’t recognize the truck parked further down on the street and didn’t notice the living room light on or the _two_ mugs on the table. It wasn’t until he was heading up the stairs that he recognized the familiar mop of curly blonde hair sitting on his couch. 

“Clay?”

Clay didn’t answer him and Jason felt a trickle of dread, the Kid wasn’t usually this silent. Circling around the couch, Jason felt his heart stop completely before resuming double time. _What in the holy fucking hell is going on here_?

Emma and Clay were asleep. Together. On his couch. 

Yes, he knew that they were close, that they were friends, and Alana had said to leave it be, but what the holy fuck. Was it his Emma that Clay was talking to at the bar? Why’d he have to go _get_ her? And why was she all wrapped up around him.

Being close emotionally was one thing, but this was _different_. 

_Of all the times when I need you ‘lana, you’re not here_ , Jason thought to himself, nudging Clay’s foot. He woke with a start and Jason physically saw the realization cross his face before his ‘mask’ settled, driving all the fight right out of him. Clay was ready for a fight and Jason didn’t want to give him one, not when they needed to talk and listen. 

“Kid we gotta talk about this. What’s happening here?”

“Jace, I wish I knew. It didn’t start out like this, I would never take advantage of you or of Alana and-”

“Clay, calm down before you wake her up.” Emma had started to stir when Clay started rambling. Taking a deep breath, he looked down at Jason and decided to be completely transparent.

“We started off as something, it’s moving to something else. We haven’t talked about it and to be completely honest, I don’t even think that Emma knows what's happening.”

Jason paused, if neither of them had talked about it, it couldn’t have been something that had been going on beneath his nose. They were starting something and trying to stop something all at the same time and it wasn’t going to work. “You know you’re five years older than her”

Clay swallowed and squeaked out, “Yes, I know that and I know that Emma is your daughter and that this brings up a whole lot more issues than we really need at the moment, especially with the guys.”

Shit. Jason didn’t even think about the guys. Clay had also failed to mention a key fact that he had never wanted for his children. He was a team guy. “And a SEAL”

“Yes, I am a SEAL and I am your brother, Jason.”

Clay had him there, if there was anyone that would be suited for his daughter it was someone that Jason knew and trusted, someone that was like a brother to him. But even the thought of Emma dating, much less dating one of his men made his skin crawl and the bottom of his stomach give out. There were so many things that could go wrong, so many opportunities for people to get hurt. “I’m not ok with this yet, you gotta give me time.”

“Jace, I don’t even know what this is yet, I don’t even think Emma knows what it is. Alana is probably the only one who saw this coming.” Clay relaxed a little further into the couch and pulled Emma a smidge closer, inhaling the sweet scent of her shampoo.

“That’s Alana for you, always ten steps ahead.” Jason smiled gently as he thought of his late wife. “When you two figure this out, we all need to sit down and hash this out, the two of us. Then you have to tell the team, I won’t keep them in the dark.”

“Anything boss.” Clay was just grateful that his balls weren’t being hung on a nail to dry at this point, as he was very sure that Jason would make good on his promise to hurt any man who dared to look at his daughter.

Emma was in his corner, and they were just going to have to take things one day at a time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Grinning he jogged out to his truck and made his way towards base feeling lighter than he had in weeks. They were on the same page, and this could only help them work better together when they were deployed. It was going to work and Clay would get to hear from Emma more regularly. Clay never, not in a million years, thought that this system would cause them more panic. After all they never came up with a plan for if a check-in was missed.

The next morning, Clay opened his eyes to the alarm on his watch and blinked in confusion wearily. He was still on the couch with Emma wrapped in his arms and it had never felt so good to be near her. He missed her terribly when they were deployed and this was all he ever wanted. 

It felt right, felt like it was always meant to be and Clay didn’t want to give it up, not even for a moment. 

“Clay, you up?” Jason called out from the kitchen, hoping that he wouldn’t wake Emma. he had wanted to give them the privacy to wake up together, but he couldn’t wait anymore. This conversation couldn’t wait anymore. 

“Yeah I’m up Jay, Em’s still knocked,” Clay responded, stretching nervously. 

Jason chuckled, it was still dark out and Emma wouldn’t get up willingly. “I could have told you that one, she’s not a morning person.”

Clay nodded, turning to face Jason with a grin spread wide on his face. “Let me wake her, we’ll meet you in there.” Clay waited until he heard Jason’s footsteps in the kitchen and the scraping of the kitchen chair. They didn’t need an audience for this conversation. “Emma, Em, wake up,” Clay said into her ear, rubbing her shoulder. 

“No,” Emma whined, turning her face into his shoulder more firmly. 

“Come on, Em, we fell asleep, time to get up,” Clay continued, waiting until she was more awake to continue. “Your dad found us, on the couch, together.”

Emma sat upright and pushed her hair out of her eyes, searching Clay’s face for any hint that he was joking. “Oh shit. But nothing happened.”

“True, but you and I both know that just because nothing happened last night, doesn’t mean that he can’t see what’s coming”

“He must have a better idea that I do,” Emma muttered, rubbing her eyes. “We need to talk about that don’t we?”

“Isn’t that the phrase you hate the most?” Clay mused, thinking about all of the rants Emma had gone off on whenever that phrase reared its ugly head. “But before we get into that, are you ok? Last night didn’t sound like the girls night out that you had planned.”

“I’m fine, I just didn’t feel well last night and didn’t feel like going out, and then Hannah offered to stay back inside with me and I felt like an ass, and I just wanted to come home and I missed you.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself to me, Em. But the fact that after a long day you just wanted to see me means something, and Em,” Clay said pausing to clear his throat. “I want that too, cards on the table here. I want to be with you, I want this, coming home to see you, having people know that you’re my girl. I’m all in.”

“I want that too Clay, but it can’t happen. Think about it, what’s everyone going to say, what are they going to think. That you took advantage of me? That I’m a _froghog?_ ” Emma said, standing to pace in front of the tv. “Not to mention Bravo, I won’t be the reason that you get kicked off. Not when you’ve worked this hard for it.”

Clay stood to grab her in his arms, forcing her to look at him. “Em, it doesn’t matter to me what other people say, it doesn’t matter that people might have a problem. They’re not us and they’re not in this relationship. As for the team, Jason wants to talk to both of us, and from there we’re going to have work on it. I’m not willing to give this up and right now, our relationship is a friendship as far as anyone else is concerned. If it develops into something more, then we handle when it comes. I'm not giving this up, Emmie K. Not in a million years.”

Emma nodded and leaned into his embrace. The thought of losing him made her chest feel like it was caving in, but she wanted what was best for him. “Let’s go talk to dad, I’m sure he has his own opinion on this”

* * *

* * *

Jason sat at the table and listened to the muffled voices in the living room. Clay had been telling the truth, they really hadn’t talked about their relationship, if there even was one. And judging from Emma’s annoyed voice, Clay wasn’t going to take no for an answer. 

Leave it to his kid to find the one man that she shouldn’t want and couldn’t really have, not the way she wanted to anyways. _Alright Jay, you got two ways of looking at this: one, you don’t let them date, and they’re miserable, or two, you let them be together and have to work through a whole fucking host of problems._ Jason drained his coffee and realized that the option that was the best for everyone was also the hardest. On everyone. 

“So,” Jason started, unsure of what to do with the intel provided to him. “I’m going to come right out and say that we don’t waste good in this house, and if this is good, it can continue. The minute that stops, all bets are off.”

“Dad,” Emma huffed, fiddling with her thumbnail. “We don’t even know what this is yet, it’s still so new.”

“I beg to differ there kid, but that doesn’t matter. It matters that the two of you are _close_ and we need to find a way to handle that both at home and when we’re on the job.”

“I don’t think it’ll be a problem at home, Boss,” Clay interrupted, seeing where Jason was going with this; if he was distracted by something happening at home it could put people in danger. Jason was used to leaving Emma, but Clay wasn’t, not yet. 

“I don’t think it will either, as long as I don’t have to see it, but we need to get ahead of this when we’re in the field. Your head has to be screwed on right, Clay.”

“So we have a system, I stay in touch and you two keep your heads and everyone’s happy.”

Jason looked at Clay, thinking through the problem. If Emma was able to call the Sat phone, then they could assure themselves that she was fine. And if they had a schedule, someone could easily pick up the phone when they couldn’t get to it because it was set. Davis would make it happen for them and no one would have to be the wiser. 

“That could work,” Jason eased out, not wanting to get too excited. They came up with one solution but there were still dozens more to be found. 

“It’s going to have to work, dad, I’m not going to accept anything less.”

“Em, this isn’t going to be easy. I know you two haven’t figured this out yet and you’re both still trying to find your feet, but be sure that this is what you _both_ want.”

Before Emma could get another word out, the phones rang and the moment was gone. “Saved by the call, for now check-ins twice a day, noon and eight?” Emma posed, one eyebrow raised. She was sure that this wasn’t the last discussion that they would be having but for the moment, Emma was holding her own. 

“I don’t know how long we’ll be, take care of Mikey and call Naima if you need anything. We gotta go,” Jason said, kissing her forehead. The sun had started to come up and bathe the room in a golden glow that matched her hair and in that moment, Jason swore that she looked more like Alana than she ever had before. Jason headed up the stairs to get ready to head to base, leaving Clay and Emma alone in the kitchen. 

“Stay safe, Clay, look out for each other,” Emma said, looking into his sweet face. 

“I will Em, just help me keep my head on straight ok, check in normally, I’ll answer my phone when I can. And when I get back, we’ll figure _this_ out,” Clay said, gesturing between them. 

“You got it dude,” Emma sassed, standing on her toes to kiss his cheek. “Now go, the guys are going to be waiting for you and dad. 

Grinning he jogged out to his truck and made his way towards base feeling lighter than he had in weeks. They were on the same page, and this could only help them work better together when they were deployed. It was going to work and Clay would get to hear from Emma more regularly. Clay never, not in a million years, thought that this system would cause them more panic. After all they never came up with a plan for if a check-in was missed.

* * *

* * *

From the moment the helo landed, all Clay wanted was a shower, a beer, and a nice long date with his bed before calling Emma to let her know that they were all home safe and sound, for the most part. The OP had lasted longer than he had wanted and while it wasn’t FUBAR, it wasn’t pleasant. He had sand in places sand should never end up, and a headache from Sonny bitching about all of the things that were trying to kill him, because apparently a fear of the jungle just wasn’t enough for the ornery Texan. 

But he was alive and all of his limbs were still intact and he was heading home to his girl. Just as he was finishing putting his cage back together, he saw Jason following Blackburn looking ready to spit nails. Before he went into the OPs center he pulled Clay aside.

“Hey Kid, need a favor.”

“Yeah boss?” No matter how tired Clay was, he would never not do something Jason asked of him, not after he saved his ass from being fried once again. He still hadn’t completely recovered from nearly eating sand after the RPG strike nearly took him out. Not to mention that he was kinda dating his daughter.

“Mind checking on the kids for me? Emma hasn’t called in a few days.” Normally after a mission went badly, Jason looked tense, but when Clay really looked at Jason he saw a different kind of tension in his shoulders and the lines of his face seemed deeper than before.

He was worried. 

Clay knew that Emma wouldn’t just miss a check in, and come to think of it, he hadn't heard from her in a bit as well, and the pit in his stomach began to form. No matter how tired he was, Clay wouldn’t be able to rest until he knew that Emma was safe. “She missed her check-ins? How many? Why didn’t you say something to me?”

“Because you needed to keep your head on straight. Kid, listen, I have to go and finish these AARs and can’t go, you can. Find her, stay with her, and if something happens, call your brothers.”

And that’s how Clay found himself wearily walking up the driveway, eyes struggling to stay open. He figured he’d find Emma, get her to call Jason, and then he could rack out on their couch with her while he waited for Jason to finish up the AARs. Standing at the front door, he knocked and rang the bell. 

Waited a few minutes. Looked through the window. 

Tried Emma's cell.

Knocked again. 

Waited another minute, then tried the knob. When the door swung open, Clay cursed under his breath and reached for his sidearm, only to realize that he wasn’t armed, because this wasn’t Jbad, it was suburban Virginia Beach for crying out loud.

Heart pounding, he started to clear the first floor of the house. Finding the downstairs empty, he slowly started to walk up the stairs when he heard a groan. Clay stopped short on the stairs and waited, thinking he was imagining the sound after being awake longer than was technically safe. The groan stopped and then started again, but this time Clay didn’t hesitate and ran, bursting through Emma’s door.

“Emma? Em? where are you?” He scanned the room but couldn’t find Emma, only heard her groaning in pain. Thinking the worst, Clay began to frantically scan the room, eyes unseeing, but still couldn’t visualize Emma. He forced himself to stop, slow his racing heart rate and breathe. 

In for four. Out for four. In for four. Out for four. 

_What do you see Clay, focus!_ He scolded himself. 

He looked at her bed and noticed the rumpled covers, the box of tissues by her bed, and the trash can near her pillow. _Ok_ , he thought to himself. _She’s sick, no one was hurting her. She was safe._ Once he calmed himself down enough to slow the pounding in his ears and the lump in his throat slowly started to disappear, he could think clearly again. _She’s in the house and the only person in the house, where the fuck could she have gone?_

He heard the groan again, this time coming from the bathroom between Emma and Mikey’s room. Pushing the door open, Clay felt his heart stop once again when he saw Emma lying on the floor, pale, and not moving.

“Emma?” He called out, as he knelt down next to her. She was warm to the touch, but didn’t respond to his voice. When he gently placed his hand on her shoulder, she rolled towards him, instinctively seeking the comfort that his presence provided her.

“Cl’y” She mumbled, opening her eyes briefly. “Where’s dad?” Her eyes fluttered shut again. In that instant, Clay knew that he needed help, and more importantly that Emma needed help. So he did what he was ordered and what was beaten into his head from the moment he joined Bravo, he called his brothers.

* * *

* * *

Trent, Brock, Sonny and Ray had all managed to escape the AARs and headed out for a beer, mostly to keep an eye on Sonny who was chasing after another young lady with a name that ended in -y, hopefully her name wasn’t Chastity this time. That one had taken all of Ray’s charm to get them out of the bar in one piece that night and he did not have the patience for that tonight. He wanted to drink his beer, then go home to Naima and snuggle his kids. But of course, he made plans and God laughed at him. Loudly. Coming back from the bar he caught the tail end of the story that Sonny was telling Trent.

“... and THAT my fine friend,” Sonny drawled, “is why I do not fuck with scorpions. They’re the sharks of the desert man.” Sonny was gesturing wildly with his ever present toothpick as Brock and Trent tried not to laugh at the man.

Before Ray could even get a word out, his phone rang. Seeing it was Spenser, he tried to put all the beers down on the table before spilling them everywhere, but he couldn’t get it out of his pocket fast enough before it went to his voicemail. Just as he was about to call the kid back, Trent’s phone rang. Sharing a look with Ray, he answered the phone, but put it on speaker. His gut told him that they would soon all be going after Bravo Six. Trent couldn’t even get a word out before Clay’s panicked voice came through the line.

“Trent? Trent, I need help.” With that one sentence, Sonny laid some bills on the table, Brock packed up Cerberus, and Ray took out his phone to call Jason.

Apparently the kid had gone and gotten himself into trouble, again. Something Ray wasn’t even sure was possible this close after a mission where Clay had nearly been blown up. 

Again. 

But this was Clay Spenser, trouble could find him in a padded room.

“Clay? Where are you? Are you hurt? We’re coming to get ya,” Trent soothed Clay as best he could over the phone, but it didn’t help much, as Clay rushed out.

“I’m fine, I’m at Jason’s” The phone connection shook and they heard Clay talking to someone, but couldn’t make out the words or who he was talking to. What they could make out was the underlying panic that Clay was trying to tamp down while talking to them.

The boys stopped short, if he was at Jason’s, but was fine, where was Jason?

“Brother,” Ray choked out, “Is Jason there with you?”

“No, just come to Jason's. I need help here. Bring your med kit.” With that a groan and cry of pain came over the line before the phone clicked, and the call ended.

“Alright boys, let’s move out” They moved swiftly towards Ray’s car and hurtled towards the Haye’s house, each silently wondering what they were walking into, but were unprepared for the sight that they would find.

* * *

* * *

Emma knew she was sick, there was no denying it. But then again, a cold wasn’t the end of the world, and especially when there were things to get done. With her dad deployed, she was in charge of Mikey until he came back, which meant making sure he went to school, had a ride to hockey practice, and ate something relatively nutritious besides pizza from the joint down the street. 

Pulling herself out of her bed, she drove Mikey to school that morning and called herself out of school for the day, there was no way she was going to be able to pay attention to calculus with a migraine that felt like it was trying to split her head from the inside out. Emma toyed with the idea of calling Naima to come check on her, but felt silly. She had a cold, it would go away in a few days. No need to bother the busy woman, especially now that RJ had just started sleeping through the night.

As Emma lay down in bed, she broke out in a cold sweat and threw the covers off before falling into a restless sleep, wishing that her mom was there to smooth her hair back and sing her to sleep. Tears stung her eyes, but Emma refused to let them fall. She would see her mother in her dreams.

Some time later, it could have been days, could have been hours, Emma woke up with a start. Sat for a minute then rushed to the bathroom before getting sick. Flushing the toilet, Emma rested on the cool tile of the bathroom floor, the taste of bile heavy on her tongue.

And that’s all she remembered before waking up in Clay Spenser’s arms.

Seeing Emma passed out on the floor was the most terrifying experience of Clay Spenser’s life, and that was counting Sonny in his birthday suit. Drawing on his meager medical training, Clay knelt down next to Emma and started to check for obvious injuries. She wasn’t bleeding anywhere, was breathing, albeit rapidly, and didn’t have any lumps on her head. She was hot to the touch, and damp, having sweat through her pajama top. Sitting down next to the sink, Clay pulled her into his lap and tried to wake her gently, counting the minutes until his brothers arrived, until Trent arrived.

“Em, come on, wake up for me Emmie K, lemme see those pretty blue eyes,” Clay cajoled, rocking gently back and forth.

Emma stirred gently, her eyes still disoriented. She blinked, then with a start sat up. “Mikey! I need to get Mikey!” She struggled weaker than a newborn kitten to get out of Clay’s arms, too weak to get up without help.

“Emma, Em, slow down,” Clay pushed her back into his lap. “Where’s Mikey?” Clay’s heart began to pound once again, thinking that the boy was somewhere in the house, sick, and Clay had missed him in his search for Emma.

“At school,” Emma mumbled as she licked her lips, feeling the rise of bile in her throat once more. “I have to pick him up from school.”

“Em, it’s ten o’clock, he’s still in class. Stay down, you’re sick”

“I need to get up, Clay, I’m fine.” She struggled again this time managing to turn towards the toilet before getting sick again. Clay knelt behind her, holding her hair back and felt tears prick at his own eyes in sympathy. After being knocked in the head a time or two, Clay knew that vomiting with a headache hurt more than the headache itself.

“Em you’re not getting up until I know that you’re one hundred percent ok.” Once the toilet was flushed and Emma fell back into his arms, Clay started rocking her gently while smoothing down her hair. He looked down at his watch and prayed that his brothers would be making an appearance soon. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, Emma needed more than he could give her.

* * *

* * *

Ray was pushing his truck as fast as he dared, not wanting to be delayed from a well meaning cop, but still needing to reach his brother. Scenarios were running through his mind and he was sure that Trent was even more anxious than him. The normally calm medic was going through his med kit and pulling out things that he wasn’t even sure were medical tools. Sonny’s knee was bouncing and he was double checking the gun he carried on his ankle while off base. He saw Brock raise an eyebrow at Trent, but then discreetly pulled out a plastic bag and let Cerberus get a good whiff.

“What in the holy hell is that Brock?” Sonny called out from the front seat.

“We keep losing the kid, foolproof way to make sure we’ve always got a scent to find the kid with.” Seeing the looks of disbelief, he opened the bag to show Sonny a shirt that he had swiped from Clay’s cage when he wasn’t looking.

“Where do you think we’re going to lose the kid? Said he was at Jay’s”

“You never know with him, Son, you never know”

The tension in the car amped up when they pulled into the driveway, the door wide open. The boys jogged up the walkway and just like Clay, they cleared the bottom floor before moving up towards the stairs with Trent leading the way. 

Trent had very few certainties in his time as Bravo’s medic. He knew that Jason would never admit to pain, Ray always wanted the least amount of pain medication, and that Brock would only accept treatment once Cerberus was ok. Sonny was a wily one, but with the promise of a good beer, he’d accept anything Trent thought was necessary. With Clay, Trent had no certainties and never knew what was coming next. He was fully prepared to have another medical enigma on his hands, but what he wasn’t prepared for was the Kid sitting up on the floor holding his Master Chief’s daughter in his arms, looking fit as a fiddle.

Clay heard movement downstairs and once again kicked himself for not having anything to defend himself with, not that he was moving much with Emma still draped over his lap. He strained his ears, and then recognized the click of nails on the stairs. Cerberus. The calvary had arrived.

“Cerberus?” He called out, and then a flurry of activity happened all at once. The boys took the stairs double time, but before he saw them, the hair missile found them and barked. 

Loudly.

After that, the boys rushed into the room and everything started happening all at once. Ray started praying, Brock stared blindly, and Sonny swore a blue streak that would have made Blackburn blush.

“Spense, talk to me what happened” Trent forced his voice to remain calm as he knelt next to them, though his hands shook and he reached for Spenser’s arm.

“Boss asked me to come check on her, she missed the check in for yesterday and today. I..I.. found her like this. Didn’t know what to do.” Clay felt himself start to relax, his brothers were here, he didn’t have to be hyper alert anymore.

“Clay, can you pick her up? I want to move her to the bed.” Trent looked in Clay’s eyes, searching for any hint of doubt, before turning to Ray. “Sonny, go down and find the gatorade, but not the red one, we don’t need anyone puking.” The boys chuckled at that, remembering all the times Clay had hurled after accidentally drinking some of the red juice. “Brock get some towels from the closet and some ice.” Both men hurried to get the supplies that Trent requested, wondering how exactly they had once again ended up in a situation where Trent called the shots, especially when they were home.

They were home for fuck’s sake, not in Jbad.

* * *

* * *

By the time Trent turned back towards Clay, he had Emma settled in bed again, and was holding her hand, stroking her forehead gently with the other. Trent shared a loaded glance with Ray at the outright tenderness that Clay showed their boss’s daughter, something they had yet to see from their cocky, arrogant rookie.

“Clay?” Trent’s voice startled him and he dropped his hand from Emma’s forehead before trying to get off of the bed. The moment he let go of Emma’s hand, she cried out.

“Don’t… no…” She started rustling around on the bed, twisting and turning. Clay glanced back at Trent before kicking off his boots and crawling on the other side of the blonde, not even sparing a glance for his brothers in the room, only caring about Emma.

“Emmie K, I got ya,” He soothed, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and pulling her close. Emma quieted down and snuggled her head into Clay’s shoulder, still breathing quickly. They had never seen this side of Bravo Six, and after this situation was handled, they were all going to have words about how this ‘relationship’ developed. This was more than a man checking in on another man’s daughter.

This was tenderness, compassion.

This was love.

“Spenser, I need to know. What happened here?” Trent knelt on the side of the bed nearest Emma and started taking her vital signs, looking more and more concerned, especially when he took her temperature.

“Boss asked me to come by and check on her, she missed the check ins.”

“I know that part Spense, you told me. How’d she end up like this?” Trent pulled out his stethoscope and listened to Emma’s chest before trying to move her forward so he could listen to her lungs, but Clay held on tightly, not letting Trent jostle her more than necessary. When Clay refused to let him examine her, he looked into his eyes and saw the fear that was lurking underneath the forced calm that was threatening to break free.

“Ray?” Trent called out while still looking Clay in the eyes. “Can you come help me shift Emma? I need to listen to her lungs.”

Ray approached slowly, treating Clay like the stray dog that they had found in Jbad on their last deployment. Hands held out in front of him, he moved slowly towards Trent not wanting to spook Spenser

“Clay, I want you to support her back, don’t let go. Ray come here and hold her shoulders. I’m going to listen for a minute then you can hold her again, ok brother.” The men moved together as one unit, trusting that Trent wouldn’t put them through anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. Once they got her settled again, Trent pulled out his med kit and began to start an IV. Before Trent could get any medication flowing, Clay interrupted roughly. “Wait, what are you giving her?”

“Just fluids Clay, you’ve had them before. Why?”

“She had med allergies, where’s her phone.” Another long glance was shared between Trent and Ray. The kid knew enough about Emma to know her medication allergies, something that not even Ray knew and he had known the kid for her entire life.

Ray searched the nightstand before handing the phone over to Clay, who quickly typed in the password, before accessing the note where she kept her medication allergies. Trent quickly scanned them, noticing that they were mostly narcotics and a few antibiotics, and looked at Clay again. “I’m not giving her anything on this list Clay, just fluids. That ok?”

Clay nodded and rested once more against the headboard, still holding Emma.

Brock and Sonny raced into the room with the gatorade and towels packed with ice. Seeing Spenser on the bed with Emma in his arms, Sonny started to open his mouth before a sharp look from Bravo Two shut him up really quick.

“Emma said that she wasn’t feeling well before we deployed, but that she had a cold. Didn’t want to bother Naima with it.”

Ray’s head snapped towards Spenser, who had snatched a towel from Brock and wiped her forehead gently from the sweat that had collected from her fever. He didn’t know why Emma wouldn’t want to bother his wife when she was sick, Naima would have been here in a heartbeat if she knew.

“She’s been sick a week? Like this?” Trent questioned sharply.

“No, at least I don’t think so. She texted me that she felt sick, but last I heard it was body aches and fatigue. Not this. I would have told Jace if it was like this," Clay paused and then muttered darkly, "would have called Naima myself if it was like this.”

“What are you thinking brother?” Ray asked Trent.

“Nasty case of the flu. Has she been vomiting today?”

“Yeah twice when I was here with her.” Clay looked down worriedly at her. The adrenaline was starting to come down and it was getting harder and harder to keep his eyes open.

“Spense, Spenser!” Clay opened his eyes rapidly to find Trent’s eyes staring back at him. “Want you to drink the gatorade, you’re starting to look a little shocky.”

“Take care of Em, Trent. I’m fine”

“Well then you can be fine and drink the gatorade, all of it, no excuses.” Trent finished setting the IV up and then gathered the damp towels from Brock to start trying to cool Emma down. He glanced up at Clay and noticed his eyes were closed and the gatorade bottle was hanging loosely in his hand, empty. At least the kid had listened to instructions before passing out. Even better was that no one had to carry his ass to an exfil after he passed out, he was already in a bed.

“Is everyone just going to ignore the elephant in the room here?” Sonny drawled. “Wonder boy here clearly knows a thing or two about Sunshine over there.”

“Oh no Sonny, we’re going to get some answers here, don’t you worry about that brother.” Ray reassured him, “But let’s let them sleep, we’ll find out more when he’s not so panicked. Trent, you gonna start an IV in him as well?”

“Might as well, the kid gets dehydrated faster than anyone I’ve ever seen.” Trent made quick work of starting another IV and then began to clean up around him. Brock whistled lowly and Cerberus jumped up on the bed, circled, and nestled himself between Emma and Clay, with his snout resting protectively on Emma’s stomach.

“What?” Brock said defensively, “Cerb’s not going to let them out of his sight, we can rack out for bit on the couch, and when they wake up, we get the answers we want.”

“That there’s a good plan oh mighty dog whisperer.” Sonny clapped Brock on the shoulder and with that four Navy SEALS made their way down to the living room, shut and locked the front door, and claimed a spot on the couch, protecting their sleeping brother upstairs.

And that is exactly how Jason found them once he got home from the AAR debrief from hell, a dog pile that was missing a dog and a daughter that had still yet to check in. At least Mikey called him and told him he was staying over the Porter’s, one less kid to give him gray hairs. And he had three of those now.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And with that, six men, minus one dog, went downstairs for what was sure to be a very interesting conversation. Clay lingered in the doorway, watching Emma sleep until Jason’s hand clapped over his right shoulder and practically pulled the man with him down the stairs. Clay just hoped that his brothers would make this quick so he could go back upstairs to Emma, she needed him.

Emma came to slowly, blinking at the light that had been left on and took stock of her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was lying on the cool tile of the bathroom and praying that her stomach would stop rebelling long enough for her to catch her breath. She was tucked neatly under covers and her back was leaned up against something sturdy, but it moved rhythmically up and down, so it couldn’t be her headboard. She tilted her head towards the ceiling and immediately regretted her decision as her stomach revolted and she shot up, thanking her lucky stars that someone had put a garbage can next to her bed.

As she was throwing up, she felt a hand grab her hair and another hand rubbing her back. “Shh Emmie K, let it out, you’re ok” Emma knew that voice, made her feel safe, but she thought it was another one of those dreams she had when she was feverish, or really whenever she closed her eyes, but those weren’t usually about being sick.

She leaned back into his arms and snuggled into his chest, happy that in her dreams she got to be with the man she was coming to love. Emma nuzzled her nose into the crook of his shoulders, causing Clay to snicker. 

That had never happened before in Emma’s dream. 

Huh. 

Emma chanced looking up again and saw Clay’s beautiful blue eyes staring down at her once more shot straight up.

“What? Em, you good?” Clay rushed out, ready to grab the bucket if Emma needed to throw up again. The entire time that he had been with her, her eyes had been glazed with fever, but now they looked clear

“You’re home? When did you get home?” She snuggled in further to his side, wrapping her arms around his chest, trying to be as close to him as physically possible. Though she was sweating, Emma craved the comfort that being near him provided. In his arms, the world stopped spinning. 

“This morning, Jace sent me to check on ya, you missed your check ins for yesterday and today.” Clay informed her, infusing a bit of steel into his voice. It wasn’t like her to miss checking in, especially after their conversation with Jason before they spun up. She knew how important it was that they kept their heads when they were spun up, she wouldn’t have done anything to jeopardize their safety. 

“I must have slept right through them, I didn’t even realize that I did.” 

She looked downcast and Clay tilted her head up with his hand to look at her face.“No one’s mad Em, we just got worried when we couldn’t get in touch with you, thought the worst. Turns out Jace was right to be worried.”

Emma nodded and settled next to him before taking stock of the fact that both of them had IVs running into their arms. The last thing she remembered was being on the floor in the bathroom and as much as she knew that Clay was capable of basic first aid, this was a little beyond his scope. At her confusion, Clay responded, “Trent.”

That was the conclusion that Emma had come to as well, but it was still strange that they both of them had lines in place. The last message from Clay didn’t say anything about an injury or him being sick.“Why do you have one? Did you get hurt on the OP?” She struggled again to sit up to try and check Clay over when the room spun again. 

“I’m fine, Em, just the adrenaline crash. Trent likes to make sure that I’m taken care of when I crash, you know that. I’m fine.” Grabbing her hands in his he looked at her and didn’t see anything else. Even sick, with red eyes and cheeks, hair a mess, with bags under her eyes, she was still the most wonderful woman that he had ever seen. Smoothing down a lock of hair that had come undone from the haphazard braid, Clay couldn’t help himself. He leaned in and kissed her, gently and softly, unwilling to let go.

Emma snaked her hands up over his shoulders and rested one on his firm chest and the other threaded through his hair. The softness of his lips combined with the slight scruff on his jaw was intoxicating and Emma never wanted it to end. Sooner than she would have liked, Clay pulled away and rested his forehead on her, panting slightly.

“Clay?” Emma asked, still trying to catch her breath

“Yeah sweets,” Clay responded, trying to calm himself down.Taking deep breaths in through his nose and out through his mouth, he contented himself with knowing that Emma sat safely in his arms.

“What are we doing here?” Emma asked, biting her lip. When they had kissed all of her worries and questions had faded away, but reality was setting in. Clay might have been comfortable letting things play out, but Emma was too much like her father, she needed a plan.

And just like that, Clay felt like a bucket of ice had just been dumped over him. Shifting Emma off his lap, Clay rolled onto his side to face Emma. “I’m not sure, Em. We haven’t really had the time to talk about it before now. Your mom died, then Adam died, I got spun up for what felt like a year and every second that I’ve been away I missed you.”

“What does that even mean Clay?” Emma sighed, exasperated by the non-answer.

“It means that I don’t want this to end, I don’t want to not have you texting me about your day, I don’t want to not be able to go to you when things get hard, Em.” Clay smoothed the tear that was marching down her cheek away. “I want this, right here, to continue, because it’s good and..”

“... you don’t waste good.” Emma cut him off, finishing the mantra. “Mom used to say that all the time, one of her golden rules.”

“I know Emmie, even Jace says it now.” Clay chuckled remembering the times that Jason had used that phrase, mostly to get the team to do something besides drink cheap beer at the nearest bar. “Emma, do you want this, whatever this,” he gestured between them “is.” Clay held her gaze for a moment before closing his eyes, ready for Emma to let him down gently.

“Clay you know that I want to be with you and that I want you in my life, but I don’t want to cause problems for you. The last thing I want is for something to happen because of me.”

“Em, we talked about this before I got spun up. You’re not going to cause problems for me with the guys, hell they probably wouldn’t even notice if we made this official and put labels on it because we’ve  _ been _ doing this for the last six months,” Clay explained, trying to get her to see his point of view.

“That’s another thing, those guys have been a part of my life for my  _ entire _ life, Sonny and Ray have known me since I was born and Trent helped deliver Mikey. They’re not just going to accept that you and I want to date, Clay. They won’t understand.”

“I don’t really give a shit if they don’t understand Em, they don’t really have to, they just need to know that you make me happy and I make you happy. If they really cared for either of us, that’s all that would matter.”

“Clay I wish it was that simple, but I don’t think it’s going to be,” Emma said, tears welling up in her eyes. 

“Emma Kate Hayes,” Clay said slowly, noticing her eyes drooping as he held her gaze. This girl was trying to have a serious conversation with him when not even an hour earlier she was puking her guts up.  _ Only Emma,  _ he thought to himself.  _ She would try to get her life together in this moment _ . “I don’t care if it’s easy, I don’t care what the guys say, I don’t care that people are going to talk. I care about you. When you’re feeling better, go out with me, let me show you that this will work.”

“You’re not getting rid of me that easily Clay, I want this and I want to be with you, but we need to have a game plan. We need to figure out a way to tell daddy, and then the boys, and figure out if this is breaking any rules, and -”

Clay cut her off with a kiss once more and pulled her back into his arms. “That’s all I needed to hear Em, there’ll be time for that tomorrow. We’ll deal with everything as it comes, but right now you need to lie back and rest. You’re sick Emmie K.”

“I’m fine Clay, I have a cold. You can’t be in here though, even if Dad sent you in, he’s on his way. I don’t think he’d like you in bed with me.” Even sitting upright being supported by Clay, Emma started to sweat again, feeling lightheaded. 

“Emma, just relax. It’ll be fine. The boys put us in here together, they know you’re not feeling well, it’ll be fine.” Clay soothed her and gently tried to pull her back into the firm support of his embrace. “Let me take care of you Em, you’re sick.”

“So they do know about us already,” Emma muttered, holding back a wave of nausea. When it passed, she tipped her face up to glare at him weakly. “I’m not sick,” Emma pouted churlishly.

“Whatever you say Emmie K, just relax then, take a nap. I’m not going anywhere.”

Unable to resist, Emma flopped back into his arms, the room spinning around her. She grabbed his hand and threaded her fingers between his, trying to fight the urge to vomit. With Clay stroking her hair and humming underneath his breath, she fell into an uneasy slumber content with the knowledge that Clay would watch over her, keep her safe, especially now that she had had some confirmation that whatever ‘this’ was, they were both on the same page. It also helped that there was one very smart canine who wisely kept his mouth shut while the humans had their conversation. They didn’t need any interruptions just yet.

* * *

* * *

All Jason wanted was a beer, then he was going to find out where his daughter was hiding and prayed that that hiding spot wasn’t with his rookie somewhere doing something that he didn’t want to think about. What he wasn’t prepared for was Ray’s car in the driveway and all of his men dozing on the couch. Shutting the door with a soft click, Jason surveyed the scene and did a quick head count. Ray, nearest the door with his head against his chest. Brock, curled up in the corner of the sofa, drooling lightly. Trent, in the arm chair, looking more relaxed than Jason had seen him in weeks. And Sonny. Wide awake, looking at him wide eyed.

“Hey there boss man,” Sonny laughed nervously, kicking Ray’s foot, startling him awake.

“Sonny, Ray.” Jason dragged out slowly, still unsure as to why they were sleeping in his living room when he was sure that they were going to paint the town, having the next day off from shore duty. “Either of you seen Emma? Or Clay, I sent him here to check on the kids.”

Sonny gulped, and squeaked out “Well, lookie here boss, we don’t really know what happened.” Shifting from foot to foot, Sonny Quinn looked nervous, more nervous than if he were to find a shark in a jungle. Looking over to Ray, he didn’t know how to answer so he didn’t say anything.

When no one said anything, Jason dragged a hand over his face and ambled into the kitchen to find that beer that had been calling his name all the way from Jbad. Ray and Sonny trailed in after him, not quite sure of what was happening. Taking a long drag from his beer, he pointed the neck of the bottle at Ray. “Explain, where’s my daughter Ray.”

“Brother, I don’t even know the full story here, just as confused as you are. Got a call from Clay at the bar. Kid was panicking, told us to get here with Trent’s med kit. We got here and things went to shit.”

“The med kit? Where are they Ray? Who needed it?” Jason slammed his bottle down and moved to go around the wall that Ray and Sonny formed in the kitchen doorway.

“Boss, I don’t think you want to go up there right now, not a pretty sight.” Sonny drawled, trying to figure out a way to tell Jason that there was some serious canoodling going on right above their heads. If Jason found out that the rookie was snuggling into his daughter’s arms, heads were going to roll. 

“Is the Kid with Emma?” Jason asked the boys point blank. Staring at their faces to try and discern why they were preventing him from going upstairs to check on his oldest child and his rookie. “Is that why I can’t go upstairs in my own damn house?”

“How’d you know that,” Ray moved towards the living room, intent on waking the rest of the boys. Maybe they were going to get to the bottom of this after all, before Clay even woke up from his adrenaline induced slumber. If Jason had an idea of what was going on, then the rest of them were missing something big. 

“I sent the Kid to check on up her, if shit really did hit the fan, he’s not going to let her out of his sight till I get there. Now is he up there?” Jason growled, “And someone better start talking about why the hell you needed the full med kit in my house”

“Oh yes, sunshine and wonder boy are both up there, but to be real honest here with ya Jay, I need more information than that, so why don’t you sit your pretty little keister down and tell ol’ Sonny what fresh hell we just walked into. Why did you send him, out of all of us, to go check on Sunshine and why the hell did you think she needed to be checked on. What in the holy hell is going on!”

Ray appeared back in the kitchen with Trent and Brock in tow, and took a seat around the kitchen table. With Sonny’s prodding, he took a seat at the head of the table with Ray to his right and Sonny to his left. Taking another long drag, he finished the beer and longed for a second beer, knowing that this conversation wasn’t one that he was looking to having after that clusterfuck of a mission. 

“Brother, what’s going on here?” Ray asked Jason softly “What we walked in on, we were blind, and apparently you withheld some of that information.”

“Ray, I still don’t know what happened. Why. Did you need. The med kit.” Jason was losing his patience very quickly. If he thought that he could get away with it, he would storm upstairs and demand to see his daughter, but there were four very strong operatives in his way, and with the way his back ached right now, it wasn’t a feasible possibility.

“We came into the house, looking for the kid. We didn’t know that you sent him to find Emma, Jay” Trent spoke up, wanting to defuse the situation as much as possible, longing for some answers of his own. “We went upstairs and found them in the bathroom, Emma on the floor and Clay holding her on his lap. From what I gathered, Emma caught a bug and when Clay came in to check on her, he found her unresponsive and called us. You know the rest from there.”

“Emma’s sick? Why didn’t she call Naima?” Jason wondered, looking at Ray, as if he would know more than anyone else.

“Naima didn’t mention when I spoke with her last, I’m pretty sure that Emma didn’t tell her, she would have mentioned it to one of us when we spoke.”

Jason stopped short in his thinking and turned to Trent so quickly his neck snapped. “Trent, did you give her any medication? She’s got allergies-”

“Jace, relax. I gave her some fluids. The Kid made sure I didn’t give her anything on the do not take list.”

“I’m sorry fellas, but I am still confused over here. And normally that wouldn’t be a problem, as I, I thrive in confusion. But someone had better tell me right quick why my Sunshine is in bed with Boy Wonder. It ain’t right!” Sonny slammed his hand down on the kitchen table. In the silence that followed his declaration, the five men heard the sounds of vomiting and moans of discomfort from upstairs.

Jason started to get up, intent on going to his clearly very ill child, but was stopped by a hand on his forearm and a glare from Sonny Quinn. “Son, I don’t really know what to tell you here. The Kid and Emma are close, they always have been, since he joined the team.”

“And we never knew about this why brother?” Ray questioned, thinking back to all of the times when Clay and Emma had interacted in the past, seeing those interactions in a new light. All of the inside jokes that they both seemed to giggle at, the looks they shared when something was said that they didn’t agree with, the casual comfort present between the two. “Why didn’t Clay come to us, tell us what was going on?”

“Alana said to leave it be, so I did. They both needed someone, especially in the early days when the Kid was still trying to find his feet.” Jason sighed, thinking about the past six months and the change he had seen in Clay since he was drafted. “I don’t think Clay even knew that they were heading towards something serious, at first it was a friendship that Alana and I watched and then it… grew.”

“Alana said to leave it be?” Sonny drawled incredulously. “Just leave it be? I’m calling bullshit on that way Jason, she was more protective of the girl than my grandninny over the rat she called a dog!”

“Yeah Son, she did, and I trusted her to tell me if there was anything else that I needed to know. And from what she told me, the friendship they share? That’s good, and we don’t waste good. I wasn’t going to stop something that Emma took comfort in, something that grounded her when her entire world got turned upside down Son. She needed someone in her corner.”

Trent spoke up from the other end of the table. “We definitely don’t have all the information here to go around and make hasty decisions or assumptions. I think the real question here is how his supposed brothers didn’t know that he had to reach out to someone else for support that he wasn’t getting from us?” Trent looked down at his hands somberly, and that statement seemed to take the wind right out of Sonny’s sails, as he visibly deflated.

“And why Sunshine thought she couldn’t come to us when she needed help.” Sonny mumbled.

“Glad you’re seeing it from my point of view boys,” Jason stated as he went to grab a round of beer for his brothers.

“Jay,” Trent dragged out his name, avoiding looking at his face. “There’s still one thing that’s bothering me about this. “How does Clay know that Emma has drug allergies? They’re awfully similar the kid’s allergies.”

Carefully weighing his words, because he was sure if this was going to cause problems, again. “He’s Emma’s medical proxy if they can’t reach me.” And then he waited for the explosion that never came.

“Well now that’s something that makes sense, finally.” Sonny drawled, taking out a toothpick from his pocket. “Chances are if they can’t reach you, they’re going to be able to get to Boy Wonder somehow. Who’s after him?”

“After Clay, Davis, and depending on why they’re calling, she knows which of us to find and fill in.”

“Brother, do you and Clay have, a, a system for going out on OPs together?” Ray mused, the puzzle pieces finally clicking into place. Jason had gone from having a rough time leaving his family, to being able to relax and settle into the routine of being spun up. Now that he knew there was a system in place to guard his family, it made sense that the man trusted Clay implicitly.

“Yeah Ray, we do,” Jason admitted quietly, not wanting to have to admit that the great and mighty Bravo One had a weakness to his brothers. “Clay and Emma stay in contact, she checks in with either him or me twice a day about Mikey and the house or about school, or really anything she needs to talk about. Naima comes by once a week to help Emma with the house stuff and give her a day off. Davis checks in every other day, and when we’re on OPs, calls in so that Emma can relax a little bit. Blackburn has old friends that live in the area that keep an eye on the house that Emma can call if she’s concerned. She’s been pretty high strung lately.”

“And what do we do Boss?” Brock spoke up gently.

“You all keep me and the Kid from going home in a box,” Jason replied, looking into the warm eyes of Bravo Five. “We all play our roles, not once has Emma missed a check in. I thought the kid was going to go over the rails when I told him that she missed three, but he did a pretty good job at keeping his head in the game. That’s why I sent him home first when we were cleaning the cages and finishing the AARs. He knew to check in with me if something went wrong and I told him to call his brothers if he needed help.”

The boys were quiet again, each silently sipping from their beer, lost in thought. The sound of more vomiting filled the air and they all winced, looking over at Trent. Clay’s voice soothing Emma floated down the steps, but they couldn’t make out words.

“Ok, Trent, I can’t take hearing her vomit anymore. You gotta give her something that’ll make her stop vomiting.” Sonny pleaded with the medic, looking from Trent to Jason.

“I don’t think that I can, Son. If I give her the wrong thing, it’s gonna cause the same thing all over again.” Trent sighed, and pulled at his hair. “It’s like having another version of the Kid, except this time I don’t know anything because I haven’t been out in the field with her to even begin to know what her allergies are beside the narcotics. Who knows if she’s allergic to antiemetics or really anything, I doubt she’s ever had to take serious medication before.”

The boys were quiet again. They never wanted to hear one of their teammates in pain, but hearing one their children in pain? Worse than any other torture that SERE could think up. All of a sudden, Clay’s voice came loud and clear, and set every single man on edge.

“Trent!” followed by a loud, insistent bark from their hair missile

And just like that, all five men tumbled up the stairs.

* * *

* * *

Emma never fell back asleep fully, she just closed her eyes and enjoyed the warmth that was coming from Clay. The man was like a human furnace, and to her clammy, sweat soaked skin, it was heaven. Still holding onto his hand, Emma felt her forehead break out into that awful cold sweat again as her stomach did it’s best to try and climb out of her throat. A whimper escaped her lips, but she didn’t dare to be any louder as Clay had finally fallen back asleep. Looking at his face softened in sleep, Emma tried to lift her other arm to stroke his cheek, but couldn’t even manage to move without feeling like her bones were going to snap. She settled for turning her face and kissing very gently against his chest. Feeling his arms tighten around her, Emma closed her eyes once again.

“Go to sleep Emma, I’m right here.” Clay mumbled drowsily pulling her closer.

“I’m not tired Clay, just…” Emma trailed off and closed her eyes once again, a wave of dizziness and nausea overtaking her again.

Clay’s eyes snapped open and looked down at her face once again. She looked paler than the white pillowcase her head was resting on. Something about the way she kept wincing and grimacing reminded him of something he couldn’t place, but nonetheless, he sat up and promptly disconnected himself from his IV bag and got up to the other side of the bed. Emma, feeling the loss of heat around her, groaned in pain before twisting to the other side of the bed. The wave of dizziness swelled again as she got sick again for what felt like the hundredth time that evening and frustrated tears sprung in her eyes. She just wanted to feel better.

Clay handed her the garbage can once again and ran to the bathroom to get a damp washcloth. He didn’t have much experience with taking care of sick people, and didn’t remember much of being taken care of as a child, but when he was sick his grandmother would always put a wet washcloth behind his ears. Emma still hadn’t stopped vomiting, though Clay was sure that there would soon be nothing left in her stomach to come up, as it was nothing but slippery bile at this point. When Emma started to sob through her dry heaves, Clay pulled his arms around her once again, with Emma’s forehead resting on his shoulder. Clay hated hearing her in pain, her crying was one surefire way that he would do whatever was asked of him.

“Clay make it stop, please, please, please” Emma cried out in between sobs. “It hurts.”

Clay ran his fingers through her hair gently, combing out the snarls that had formed, trying to think through a plan. He knew that his brothers were still downstairs, they wouldn’t be leaving till they got some answers, but the real question was if Jason was home yet. He was in charge until Jason got home, but would the boys acknowledge that? Another round of vomiting started, this time Emma started to choke on the vomit as she was still sobbing in pain.

“Emmie K, you gotta calm down. Try and take deep breaths, you gotta spit that out, don’t swallow it.” His words didn’t seem to make a difference as Emma started to cough and splutter, her eyes turning wide when she suddenly couldn’t breathe through the pain anymore. Taking one look at the panic on her face, Clay had a sudden feeling of deja vu and yelled out once more. “Trent!” Even Cerberus got in on the action, lifting one ear and barking insistently.

Jason was the first one through the doors, followed closely by Sonny and Trent. They again found Clay sitting on the floor with Emma in his arms, but this time he was pounding on her back, trying to get her to take a deep breath. She finally took a breath and coughed, sputtering out more vomit. Clay raised his head from near Emma’s and took one look at Jason before he got up to move away from her so that Jason could slip in, but Emma’s hand reached out blindly to grab his hand, and well, that settled that. He wasn’t moving.

Trent went to go get his med kit that was still laid out in the bathroom and moved towards Emma and Clay, slowly this time as he didn’t want to spook Clay anymore than was necessary, as the wild look had come back into his eyes. Clay tracked his every movement with his eyes and raised a questioning eyebrow when he reached over for her IV.

“I’m just disconnecting her bud, nothing more.” Trent soothed, replacing the old bag of saline with a new bag. “You think you can lift her and put in the bed again, or is she going to be sick again?” Trent waited with baited breath as Clay studied Emma’s face, looking for any hint of nausea.

“I’m fine, Uncle Trent. Not sick.” Emma ground out, still not wanting to admit that a stomach bug was taking her down for the count, she had too much to get done before Mikey got home from school.

“Sunshine, now I don’t know nearly as much as ol’ Trent here, but I sure do know that when someone’s hurling like that, they’re down for the count.” Sonny dragged out, trying to keep the mood light. There were already two too many concerned hens in the room, he didn’t need to add to the tension. And as if agreeing with his humans, Cerberus whined and tried to place his head on Emma’s shoulder from on top of the bed.

“I have to get up, Clay help me, Mikey’s going to be home soon.” Emma struggled and managed to get to her knees before swaying again, this time being caught by Trent as she pitched forward.

“Emma, stay down!” Jason told her firmly. “He checked in already, he’s staying at the Porter’s tonight.” That seemed to do the trick, as Emma sank back on her heels and swayed for a moment, before Clay grabbed her shoulders again and placed an arm under her knees before lifting her up again. Getting her settled in the bed once more, he looked at Jason, silently asking if he wanted to be next to his daughter. At his head shake, he got back into the bed with her, but sitting up and holding her hand, too afraid to jostle her and start the vomiting again.

“Trent,” Clay asked, quietly, desperately. “What is this?”

Trent took a moment before looking at Clay, seeing the panic clear as day on his face and the tension that he carried in his shoulders. How he and his brothers had never seen the love that Clay carried for this girl was a disgrace, it was written all over his face. “She has a stomach bug Clay, and I’d hazard a guess that she hasn’t been eating or drinking, got dehydrated, and now can’t fight the bug off anymore. I’m worried though,” At those words, five bodies stiffened. Trent was never worried, always confident that he could treat whatever injuries those boys managed to come up with in the field. If he was worried, they were worried. “I want to give her an antiemetic, but if she’s allergic to it, it might be worse than what she’s dealing with now.”

“Is there a chance it could help?” Jason asked quietly, sitting down on the desk chair across from the bed, sharing a long glance with Clay. The night that followed Emma’s first medication allergy was seared into their brains. Emma crying in pain, vomiting every fifteen minutes, unable to do anything. Having a repeat performance of that wasn’t going to be pretty, but if it would help… well then the boys might just consider it.

“Yeah, if I give the right one, it’ll help.” Trent stated. “But there’s also a chance that she could have an anaphylactic reaction and stop breathing. What’s the reaction she has to narcotics?”

“She gets hives and itches and throws up nonstop, the last time she had any of it was when she had her wisdom teeth out and now she won’t take anything even remotely similar,” Jason explained, trying to weigh the risks. “You have an epi pen with you?”

Trent nodded and Jason was silent, looking to Clay as if he would make the decision for them. Jason had the final say but would listen to his opinion.

“Trent, Sunshine over there has similar allergies to Clay, why don’t ya just give her the one you would give Clay? If it’s safe for him, can’t be too bad for her” Sonny reasoned, having been in the scenario with Clay before, as Trent was deciding which route was best. Their rookie was a medical mystery that no one seemed to be able to figure out, looks like Sunshine was another one.

Another long glance was shared between Clay and Jason, which did not go unnoticed by Ray or Brock. Both men seemed to be making this decision together, without words.  _ When did their relationship get to that stage?  _ he thought to himself.  _ How did we miss this? _ Ray’s musings were cut short as Emma shot up again to be sick.

“Trent do it!” Clay growled as he crawled across the covers to grab Emma and prevent her from tipping over the edge of the bed as she dry heaved. Faster than they had ever seen Trent move before, he jabbed a needle into Emma’s arm. Waited a minute, then put another needle into the other arm. Emma went limp in Clay’s arms, and he began to panic for a moment, looking first at Trent angrily, then at Jason.

“Clay,” Jason warned, wanting him to keep his head and not act without thinking. Putting himself in Clay’s shoes, if someone had jabbed needles into Alana without telling him what they were, he was pretty sure that he would have a similar response.

“I gave her an antiemetic, the same one that you get Clay, and a low dose of a sedative. She needs to relax a little bit. You’ve had both of those before in the field.”

Clay nodded at Trent’s words, understanding that he was trying to help, but didn’t want to let go of Emma, not when his emotions were running so high.

Brock slowly approached with Ray, and placed their hands on Emma’s shoulders to help move her as gently as possible. Clay moved back and let Trent, Brock, and Ray work at getting Emma set up in bed again. A glass of water was placed on her nightstand, phone in clear reach, and a fresh garbage bag placed in the trash can. But before Clay could sit back down next to her, Jason’s command voice came out. “Downstairs, everyone. She’s gonna sleep and we’re gonna talk, all of us.”

And with that, six men, minus one dog, went downstairs for what was sure to be a very interesting conversation. Clay lingered in the doorway, watching Emma sleep until Jason’s hand clapped over his right shoulder and practically pulled the man with him down the stairs. Clay just hoped that his brothers would make this quick so he could go back upstairs to Emma, she needed him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More updates to a previous chapter, let me know if you notice the changes!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Son, I don’t know how much more I can tell you that is all that’s happened. Hell, I haven’t even been home often enough to have a serious conversation with her about any of this before today. And today, I came home to my worst nightmare. Excuse me if I’m still a little unsteady.” Clay spat, still in disbelief that Sonny, his mentor, his friend, his brother, didn’t believe that he was telling the truth.

Sitting around the kitchen table once again, all six men had a beer bottle in front of them. The silence in the room was palpable, no one wanting to be the first to break the silence, each one thinking about the events of the day. Jason was thinking about how he could take some of the burden off his oldest child. Ray was thinking about what he would do if his own daughter came home one day with a team guy and if he would be as accepting as Jason. Sonny was thinking about the creative ways that he could make fun of Clay for dating his Sunshine, nobody was allowed to date her yet. Trent was scowling at the fact that he once again had another medical enigma to deal with, and to boot it looked like it would be more complicated than the kid. And Clay, Clay was thinking about how he was going to get back upstairs to check on Emma.

The silence dragged on for what felt like an eternity until Trent had enough. His brothers could be worse than a bunch of five year olds if you let them stew long enough and they just didn’t have that kind of time right now. “Alright boys, we’re gotta talk about this, nice and easy. No fighting,” he said sternly, glaring at Sonny and Ray.

“I don’t really know what there’s left to explain,” Jason sighed, “You all know everything that I know.”

“Yeah but what we don’t know is everything that’s been happening between Batgirl and Robin,” Sonny ground out. 

All eyes were on Clay, who despite hating the taste of beer, drained his bottle in one go. He had figured that they were going to pin whatever ‘blame’ they could on him, but he didn’t have a rebuttal. There was nothing he could say that would make them understand the relationship that he and Emma shared and how it began. “What do you want me to say Son?”

“I want you to tell me exactly how this happened, it ain’t right to take advantage of someone who trusts you like that!” Sonny growled, slamming his fist down on the table.  _ Sunshine trusts us with her life and her daddy’s life, how the hell could Spenser betray that,  _ he thought to himself, chewing angrily on a toothpick.

“What the hell man? Who are you to try and tell me what’s wrong and what’s right? Or that Em is being taken advantage of? You still chase after anything covered in glitter!” It was rich that  _ Sonny _ of all people was accusing Clay of taking advantage of someone when he paid for a lady’s company for the night. 

“At least those women are my age! And ain’t being taken advantage of! They know what they’re getting themselves into!”

At Sonny’s words, Clay practically leapt across the table, ready to tackle the Texan sitting across from him only to be held down in his chair by Ray. The kitchen floor shuddered at the force needed to keep Clay in his chair, but he wasn’t done. He would move fucking heaven and earth to keep her safe and his  _ brothers _ would need to accept that sooner rather than later.

Jason held Sonny in his seat with one glare. When he spoke, all five men listened. “Now you listen here Sonny Quinn, I am in the same boat that all of you are in right now. I don’t know what’s going on here, am just as confused as you all are. But don’t you ever tell me that one of my men is trying to take advantage of anyone, because I sure as hell hope that’s not a dig at the quality of men that I’ve selected for this team.” His voice grew softer and deadlier as he spoke. “And don’t ever assume that my daughter can’t take care of herself in whatever she does and whomever she dates. I know that I raised her better than that and that Alana raised her better.”

“I wasn’t trying to say nothin’ about the way you and Alana raised your girl Jay, she’s tougher than all of us put together,” Sonny rushed to reassure him, trying to explain where he was coming from. “What I’m trying to say is that numb nuts over there should have had better discretion, should have known that she was off limits! Clay, how the hell could you think that dating the boss man’s daughter was a good way to fit in on his damn team?”

Clay opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by Ray. “Brother, I think you need to take a deep breath here, you’re making an awful lot of assumptions without even letting Clay have a chance to explain.” Ray tried to smooth down the ruffled feathers between Clay and Sonny, but taking a long look at Clay’s face, and after hearing Sonny’s accusation, even Ray wasn’t sure that he would take those comments lying down. If he was in Clay’s position and someone was accusing him of taking advantage of Naima, it would be over. 

“You know what? Why should I even try to explain,” Clay scoffed. “Sonny’s still going to think that I took advantage of her, but yet fails to realize that I leaned on her because I wasn’t sure that my so-called brothers had my back!” His words seemed to slam every member of Bravo back into their seats. To hear from a person that they counted on with their lives, trusted implicitly, confess that he wasn’t sure that he deserved the same treatment hit them far below the belt. “She was there for me when none of you would give me the time of day, and I listened to her crying over the phone more nights that I can count, where the hell were all of you?” Clay spat, taking a sick pleasure in the realization that crossed over their faces.

“I think,” Brock spoke up, “that we need to understand, and we need to do so without judgement or ridicule. Clay, we just want to understand, will you answer our questions?” He purposefully left the choice up to Clay, because like Ray, if someone was making assumptions about his relationship with his girlfriend like that, he didn’t know if he would even still be sitting at the table with them, and quite frankly, was impressed by the amount of restraint that Clay was showing.

“Yes,” Clay ground out, fighting to keep his composure. He remained in his seat out of respect to both Emma and to Jason, as he was sure that if Emma found out that the men on Bravo had fought because of her, she would have something to say about it, and it would not be pretty. “ask away.”

“Let’s start at the beginning then. When did this start?” Brock questioned, taking over the conversation and holding his connection with Clay. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if they were so angry that they could even talk to each other. 

“Just after Emma’s eighteenth birthday, when I took that shot and hit the girl. She reminded me of Emma, with all her books and the MP3 player, and I was stuck in my head. Didn’t know which one of you to talk about it with, couldn’t let the thoughts stick in my head ‘cause we got spun up right after it and couldn’t be distracted, so I texted her.” Clay sighed, wishing that he had something stronger than beer.

“And how’d you get her number?” Ray chimed in, jumping over the part where Clay didn’t think that he could talk to his brothers, that was a conversation for when they were all a little calmer.

“She gave it to me, the day of her birthday. She asked me about Brian, and then told me in no uncertain terms that if I ever felt like I did that day again, to text her,” Clay smiled, thinking of the fierce expression on her face. “I followed instructions.”

“That does sound like my Sunshine,” Sonny agreed, “always trying to take care of other people. Just like her mama did.” Trying to meet Jason’s eyes across the table, he silently tried to apologize for his earlier behavior. Jason didn’t meet his gaze, it would take more than a silent apology to make up for his behavior, no matter how well intended it was. 

“Brother, from there, how did this go down?” Ray redirected, trying to get to the heart of the issue. A couple of texts didn’t make a relationship like they had, not by a long shot. “Help me understand how you and Emma are on the same page here and we didn’t see it coming.”

“That’s just it Ray, I don’t know how it happened. One day we weren’t even friends, and then the next she was the one that I wanted to talk to when things got bad. It feels like I’ve never not had her in my life because she knows about all the parts of my life that I try to hide, just like I know all of the things that she doesn’t want anyone else to know,” Clay explained, peeling the label off of his bottle. “And we’re far from the same page here, brother. We’re trying to figure this out along the way. It’s not like we were conspiring to keep this from all of you, we genuinely didn’t know what this was, not until today.”

“Clay,” Trent jumped in, “does she know  _ everything _ ?” Trent put an extra emphasis on the end of his sentence, hoping that Clay would catch his intention without becoming defensive again. If they had just started to become serious like Clay claimed, how much did Emma really know about what they did and the risks they were taking every day they walked out the front door.

“What do you mean everything Trent?” Clay put his head in his hands, sure that they were going to accuse him of passing on sensitive information. He thought that they had already been over this, he wasn’t going to leak anything, to anyone.

“All of the times that you got hurt, the close calls, the missions we go on. Does she know about that?” Trent pushed, trying to determine how much Emma knew and if this was going to work. Having a girlfriend while being on the teams was difficult, almost like leading two different lives. Emma had grown up with team guys her whole life, but having a team guy for a dad was different from a partner. If Emma really knew what it was like to be with Clay, and supportive of what they did, their relationship was stronger than any of them thought. 

“Abstractly at best. I don’t tell her more than she needs to know, but I don’t hide things from her and she doesn’t hide things from me. She knows when I got shot at it and banged up, hell she even knows about the nightmares, about Ash,” Clay looked up from peeling the label off of his beer bottle. “I don’t hide things from her and she supports me being on Bravo.” Clay laughed sardonically, remembering their conversation from earlier that afternoon, “Hell, she didn’t even want to tell anyone because she didn’t want me to get kicked off, said she’d rather never see me again than have me give up my dream.”

The boys were all silent again, each taking in what they had heard. They sure as hell weren’t expecting Clay to be so open with them, especially with the knowledge that Clay had talked to Emma about his father, as for the most part he’d been pretty closed lipped about that entire relationship, only gaining snippets here and there from when Clay got a little too drunk or was too upset to try and hide his emotions.

“Let me just see if I have this straight,” Ray broke the silence once again. “You started texting after that mission, but when did it get to this point? Brother, you’re not exactly acting like this is a new development, which is partly why we’re all so confused.”

“I don’t know, and I know that’s not the answer you want to hear,” Clay looked down at his hands again. There wasn’t a defining moment in their relationship that he could tell his brothers about. It happened so slowly that neither of them were aware it was happening until it stared them both in the face. 

“I think I do,” Jason spoke for the first time after threatening Sonny. At his words, Clay’s head popped up and he looked at Jason’s face, trying to decipher his intent from the look on his face. “My guess is somewhere between Alana passing and Adam being KIA, that sound about right?”

“How’d you figure that one out?” Clay questioned wearily. Those three months was the most difficult time in his life and the only bright spot was Emma

“She came back different, looked at you like Alana used to look at me” Jason sighed. “I didn’t know what changed or who she was seeing, but now it makes sense that it was you, it lines up with the OPs we were on at the time. 

Taking a moment to think about the series of events, Clay thought back to all of the conversations that he had with Emma, the longing looks that were shared, the stolen kisses that he sure as hell wasn’t going to own up to right at this moment. “Yeah boss, somewhere in there,” he admitted. “I think we both knew we were heading for something the night she called me after a nightmare, right after Alana died.”

“I remember that,” Jason chuckled. “Two in the morning you were banging down my door thinking that something happened. I open the door and Emma comes flying down the stairs, bypasses me completely, and goes right to you. Thought I dreamt the whole thing till I woke up the next morning on the couch next to your ugly mug.” Smiling at the memory, but getting choked up over his daughter needing someone else besides him to get her through the rough patches still made him emotional. These were the days that he longed to have Alana by his side, she would know what to say, she saw things that most people didn’t. Not to mention she would be able to put Sonny in his place with one glare. “We got spun up the next night and didn’t get a chance to talk about it, figured it was something that I needed to let go of in the moment.”

“So what, this whole thing started to get serious three, four months ago? Something in that doesn’t make sense Clay, you’re acting like you’ve loved her for years!” Sonny still wasn’t sure that Clay was telling him the whole truth. The Kid had never lied to them before but there was a first time for everything and if he was lying about this, what else was he lying about?

“Son, I don’t know how much more I can tell you that is all that’s happened. Hell, I haven’t even been home often enough to have a serious conversation with her about any of this before today. And today, I came home to my worst nightmare. Excuse me if I’m still a little unsteady.” Clay spat, still in disbelief that Sonny, his mentor, his friend, his  _ brother _ , didn’t believe that he was telling the truth.

“Your worst nightmare?” Ray questioned quietly. Clay could be dramatic at times, but this was even a stretch for him, especially with what they saw on a daily basis.

“Yeah Ray, how would you feel if you came home and found Naima on the ground, hot, sweaty, unresponsive after not calling you for two days when previously she called or texted multiple times in one day? How would you feel if looking at her, you weren’t quite sure if she was even still breathing until you got right up close to her? How would you feel knowing that there is absolutely nothing you can do about it because you don’t know shit about medicine and couldn’t help her? How would you feel?” Clay dragged out, eyes alight with fire.

“Terrified,” Ray responded, picturing what his actions would be if he was in Clay’s shoes. “I sure as shit wouldn’t be as calm as you were when you called us.”

“That would be because the training you all beat into my head kicked in, I’m in trouble call my brothers. I need help, call my brothers. Hell, I’m bored and need someone to shoot the shit with, call my brothers!” Clay was silent again, before softly exclaiming, “It was my literal worst nightmare and one that I’m sure is going to be stuck in my head for a long time to come.”

“But Clay, you did know how to help her,” Trent interjected, “You got us there, you made sure she got the right treatment, made sure that I didn’t give her anything that would cause her more pain. You did good, Clay.” Trent didn’t hand out compliments often, but when he did, he truly meant them, which eased Clay’s heavy heart a little bit.

“I think the real question here, the one that Sonny is too chicken shit to ask right now, is what your plan is going forward. None of us want to see Emma jerked around here Clay,” Brock, once again the most level-headed of the bunch brought them back to center. They needed to get to the heart of the issue or else it would fester and break their team apart.

Clay was silent for a long time, mulling over his thoughts. He didn’t want to be telling his entire team something that he and Emma had only talked about maybe an hour or two before, but at the same time, he knew that they weren’t going to let it go without some sort of indication that this wasn’t a fling, that Emma wasn’t just another body to warm his bed. Looking at Jason, Clay spoke slowly, but with sincerity that could not be doubted. “Emma and I make decisions about whatever this, is, together, what we decide to do will stay between us because I don’t think it’s fair to her to be sharing things without her consent, and I respect her too much to betray that trust,” At this Sonny looked over at him in surprise, sure as shit that he was going to try and save his ass by telling every detail. “What I will say, is that at this present moment, I can’t see my life without her in it, and hope that if it comes down to it, my brothers will understand and support my decision, and above all respect her decision.”

“And brother, that’s all we ever wanted to know, isn’t that right Sonny?” Ray pointed stared at Sonny, hoping that he would get the hint that he had definitely screwed the pooch on this one.

“Ah hell, I’m sorry Clay. Anyone trying to go after Emma is going to get me all hot and bothered, especially because I didn’t see this one coming.”

“Still Son, you really think that I would take advantage of her? You really think that low of me?” Clay stared at Sonny, no hint of forgiveness in his cold eyes. He had been through thick and thin with this man and he still couldn’t believe that his words were honest and true.

“There’s nothing that I can say that will take those words back, I’m sorry brother.” Sonny was truly remorseful, he knew that he had put his foot in his mouth and would give anything to take those words back.

An uneasy silence took over the six brothers again, nothing that anyone else could say in that moment would convince Clay one way or the other to forgive Sonny, and if each of them were being honest with themselves, they would all be hesitant to forgive him that quickly.

“Sonny, you’re my brother, and I will always love and support you in whatever way I can, but make no mistake. If you ever assume that I took advantage of Emma or imply that I hurt her in any way again, that will be the end of this relationship, and you will be no brother of mine. We clear?” Clay stared right into Sonny’s eyes, trying to ensure that he knew that he was dead serious.

Without hesitation, Sonny replied, “Crystal” and the tension in the room dissipated.

“Now that we’re all clear on the state of my love life, can I go back upstairs now?” Clay looked around at the faces surrounding him, but before anyone could get a word out, they heard footsteps on the stairs.

“What the hell?” Trent exclaimed, “The meds should have put her down for the count”

“What did you give her again?” Brock asked, trusting that Trent would only give medication to any of them only if they truly needed it.

“A sedative, should have been enough for her to sleep through the night”

At Trent’s words, both Jason and Clay looked at each other in disbelief. Emma normally didn’t come out of medications well, whether that was anesthesia, pain medication, or even Tylenol really. They always made her groggy.

“Did you give her a full dose?” Clay asked, starting to rise out of his seat to go towards the stairs, unsure if Emma was steady on her feet. The last thing they needed was for her to take a header down the stairs. 

“Yeah, the syringes come pre-filled with the dosage. It’s a pretty fast acting medication, so it wouldn’t have lasted very long, but still, an hour and a half is pretty impressive” All of the men waited with baited breath to see what state Emma would be in when she walked down the stairs, and more importantly, how Clay and Emma would interact with each other now that the imminent danger had passed.

* * *

* * *

Emma felt like shit. Her mouth felt like it was full of cotton, her head throbbed against her temples, and her throat was scratchy and sore. At least her stomach contents had stopped trying to make an appearance and she wasn’t nearly as dizzy. Lying back on her pillow, she turned, half expecting to see Clay lying there beside her, but his ‘spot’ was empty. She could have sworn that Clay was there with her, holding her, making her feel safe again. Emma rolled over and felt the prick in her arm and looked down at the IV that was still in her arm. That confirmed that someone had been with her, but didn’t confirm who, but by process of elimination, it could only be Trent or Naima.

Sitting up slowly, Emma put her feet on the ground and tested her balance. When she didn’t wobble, she slowly began making her way towards her steps, holding the half empty IV bag in her left hand and holding onto the railing with her right. Before she could make it half way down the stairs, Clay rushed up towards her and steadied her left side with his hand.

“Hey there Emmie K, how we feeling?” Looking at Clay, Emma could see the tension that was still held in his shoulders and around his eyes and could detect the slight hint of panic that was still lingering.

“Better now,” Emma looked up at him at the bottom of the stairs and kissed him gently on the cheek before she could think anything of it before going down and taking the seat that Clay had abandoned.

“Hi daddy,” Emma said, resting her head against his shoulder. “Glad you’re home. Glad you all made it home safe.” She said looking at all of her uncles, one by one, stopping last to look at Clay moving towards the kitchen, rummaging through the draws of the pantry.

“We’re sure glad to see you up and about there, Little Miss Sunshine, you gave us a good scare there for a minute.” Sonny softened his voice a touch, looking at the girl that had seemingly turned into a young woman overnight.

“Uncle Sonny, I’m fine. I have a cold is all,” Emma tried to reassure him, grabbing his hand in hers.Hearing Clay scoff, Emma looked over towards him and raised an eyebrow, silently questioning him.

“Pretty sure that Romeo over there thinks that this was more than a little cold, and I’m partial to agreeing with him. You did not look half as good as you do now.”

“Well, maybe it was more than a little cold, but I’m good now.” Emma stood up again, intent on finding something that would stay in her stomach before a wave of dizziness came over her again and she sat down quickly and closed her eyes, trying to get her bearings again. When she opened her eyes again, Clay was squatting down next to her holding a bottle of orange gatorade in his hand and some of his favored advil liquid gel-caps. Handing them both to her, he got up again and went back into the kitchen.

“Clay?”

“Yeah Em?” Clay called out from the kitchen, not caring that the guys were watching their every move. If they were eve going to be comfortable with them dating, they needed to see what they were like together.

“Can I have some-” before she could even finish her sentence, Clay was back with a plate of apple slices and some peanut butter and honey, her preferred snack for all sicknesses. “Thanks,” she said with a soft smile, grateful to have someone that knew her so well and to be surrounded by family that took care of her when she couldn’t take care of herself.

“Emma, you gonna let Trent take a look at you?”

Looking over at her dad, Emma knew that this wasn’t a question that she could say no to, but she didn’t want to make a fuss over nothing. But then she looked at Clay, and her face softened. He looked like hell, and she was pretty sure that he wasn’t fully recovered from his own adrenaline crash. Nodding her head and finishing her last apple slice, Emma sat back and waited for Trent to get all of his various equipment out for him to finish examining her so that she could go back to sleep, and hopefully convince Clay to come with her.

* * *

* * *

Ray Perry had seen a lot of things in his day. He’d seen a lot of relationships between sailors and girlfriends, seen a lot of marriages fall apart, but rarely had he had the distinct pleasure of seeing two people fall in love before his eyes. And that was exactly what was happening between Clay and Emma.

Damn they looked so much like Jason and Alana did when they first started dating. Moving in sync, orbiting around each other, always knowing what the other was going to do or was thinking before it occurred. Being around the two of them it was clear that Clay cared for Emma, no one could look into his eyes and think that he was in this for a bed warmer. As Clay cleaned up the kitchen and got another bottle of gatorade out of the closet, Ray turned to look at Emma. Gone was the chubby cheeks of babyhood and the crooked teeth of adolescence, in their stead was the gentle gaze of a woman who had seen some shit and lived to tell the tale. Ray was shaken from his thoughts by Trent and Emma standing up to leave the kitchen for the living room. As they passed him, Emma wobbled and nearly fell into his arms.

“Hey there, you good?” Ray asked, standing up to put his arm around her waist.

“Yeah Uncle Ray, just dizzy. Need to drink more,” Emma nodded, trying to stave off the dizziness by closing her eyes and leaning into him. Ray looked over his shoulder and found Clay hovering in the background, unsure of what to do now that Emma had someone to lean on. Standing smack dab behind him was Jason, watching Clay look at his daughter with badly concealed panic.

“That’s alright girl, Trent’s gonna fix you up and you’ll be right as rain again.” Ray soothed as he walked with her into the living room, jerking his head so that Clay would follow them. At Ray’s insistent look, he jumped double time and sat down on the couch next to Emma, hoping that he could offer her some comfort.

After her second wave of dizziness, Emma knew that there was absolutely no shot that she was going to be able to get out of an exam from Trent. The boys wouldn’t allow it, and Clay for that matter would be increasingly overprotective until she got better. Not that she minded Clay being protective, because he was awfully cute while doing it, but a girl needed some time to herself.

Barely recognizing that she sat on the couch, she leaned back into the couch cushions and closed her eyes, overcome with a wave of tiredness. Hearing her favorite low chuckle, she cracked open one eye and saw Clay trying to hold back a giggle.

“Don’t laugh at me Clay, that's not nice,” she mumbled, trying to stay awake. Her words brought about other snorts and chuckles from the men standing around her.

“Not laughing Em, you gotta stay awake for Trent to take a look at you, I’m sure he’s got questions.”

She snorted and closed her eyes again, Trent would wake her again when he needed her. And until then, she was content just to be near Clay again, even if she wasn’t snuggled in the way that they usually were. 

Wait.

She could fix that one. 

Moving slowly, she slid down until her head hit his shoulder and moved over to press her side against his. Feeling more comfortable, she felt Clay put his arm around her waist as she drifted off again.

Once again Ray Perry was at a loss for words. Clay didn’t even have to tell Emma that he was sitting next to her for her to sense where he was in the room. Didn’t need to open her eyes to move into a position that made her more comfortable. Didn’t care that there were other people in the room that might not like the way that Clay was holding her. Glancing across the room at Sonny, who was sitting in ‘his’ armchair, he saw the Texan glaring at first, but as Emma moved, his glare softened and their eyes met.

Ray knew what Sonny was thinking, but to hear him admit it out loud was slightly gratifying, maybe the old Texan was finally learning.

“You and Sunshine look just like Jay and ‘lana did back in the day,” Sonny gruffed, remembering how Alana used to unceremoniously drape herself in his lap whenever she didn’t feel good or needed someone in her corner when days got rough.

“She does,” Jason agreed quietly. “Acts just like her some days, I’m worried that she’s acting more and more like a mom than a kid these days though.”

Everyone was silent, each thinking about ways that they could take the young girl’s mind off of some of her responsibilities, at least for a little while.

Trent moved closer to Emma and took her temperature with the thermometer that had previously only belonged to Clay, took her blood pressure and heart rate, and listened to her breathe all without waking the girl. But as Trent sat back on his heels and pondered, Clay knew that they would be moving soon for Trent to finish up his exam.

“What do you need Trent?” Clay asked quietly, shifting slightly to get a better grip on Emma. Whenever she fell asleep she was dead weight, not waking for anything short of a nuclear explosion. 

“Can you lie her flat on her back? I want to check her abdomen?”

“Let me try to wake her, she’s not going to be comfortable if she wakes up and finds you pushing on her stomach,” Clay explained, shifting on the couch until Emma was lying flat. Kneeling next to her, Clay brushed her hair off of her face and shook her shoulder gently. “Em, Em wake up a minute,” Clay shook her gently again, and patted her cheek. Emma stirred briefly. “That’s it, come on, wake up.”

“Whassup,” Emma slurred, knowing that Clay wouldn’t wake her unless he had to, the man liked his sleep just as much as she did, and she had finally gotten comfortable.

“Trent’s gonna feel your belly.” Clay waited for his words to sink in, trying to ensure that Emma understood what he was saying.

“Ok Clay,” Emma responded drowsily, eyes slipping shut again. Clay was with her, he wouldn’t let anything happen to her. 

Once she was settled with her head resting on Clay’s lap, Trent gently started to push on her abdomen. Emma started to move away from his cold hands, but didn’t protest too much. Even pushing on her belly, Trent didn’t feel anything abnormal. No tension, or rigidity in the abdomen to indicate any bleeding. No hard lumps or bumps. Everything looked like it was in order. Standing up again, he retrieved yet another bag of IV fluids from his kit and hung another one to try and get some fluids back into Emma and then started to pack his kit up.

“She good Trent?” Jason piped up from the back of the room, wanting to ensure that Emma was ok, that this was just a nasty flu.

“As far as I can tell Jace, she’s fine. Dehydrated, miserable and sick to her stomach, nothing but a few days of rest won’t cure.” Trent looked from Jason’s worried face back down to Emma and saw Clay stroking her hair again gently, and once again wondered how they could have gone so wrong as to not see that their brother had fallen in love.

“You can all rack out here for the night, it’s late and I’m tired. I’m going up to bed.” Jason sighed, feeling the tension drain out of his shoulders and back, overcome with weariness.

Trent nodded, feeling a niggling thought come back into his head that he should stay, just in case. Sonny felt very much the same, he wasn’t going to let Emma out of his sight until he was sure that she was ok. Ray and Brock looked at each other and began to pack up their things, whistling lowly for Cerberus, Brock turned to Jason.

“I’m gonna head out with Ray, Boss. I think you boys have this in hand.” Cerberus came running down the steps, stopped to snuff at Emma, and then heeled next to Brock, content that Clay would take care of his girl human.

“Kid, take her back to bed.” With that Jason walked up the stairs, his men would figure out where they were sleeping tonight without assistance from him, they knew where everything was and could help themselves. Sonny and Trent followed him up the stairs, figuring that they would rack out in Mikey’s room and would hopefully hear if Emma needed anything in the middle of the night.

* * *

* * *

Finally Emma and Clay were alone in the living room, the quiet that surrounded them was unsettlingly after the amount of noise that the boys created. Shifting Emma to rest on the couch cushion, Clay started clearing the beer bottles that littered the kitchen table and tidying the rest of the kitchen so that Emma didn’t feel like she had to do it when she woke the next morning. Sitting down at the table, lost in thought, he didn’t notice when Emma came up behind him and placed her hand on his shoulder, the other hand holding the IV bag. Looking up at her, the love shining in her eyes made his heart stop in his chest. Scooting the chair back, he let Emma sit down on his lap and rest her head against his chest, content with holding her close.

“Let’s go back to sleep Emmie,” Clay whispered, almost afraid to speak too loud and break the serenity that surrounded them.

“No, not yet, I want to stay here with you a little while longer.” Emma mumbled into his chest, placing kitten kisses on his neck, not wanting to move.

“Em,” Clay squeaked out, unsure of where she was going with this, this was new, unsearched territory for both of them. Clay didn’t want to make any assumptions here, but when a girl kissed his neck like that… Let’s just say it was getting hard to keep his composure steady.

Emma raised her gaze and looked up at Clay, and taking the bull by the horns, let her lips press against his, over and over and over. Like a fish to water, Clay responded and let his love for her shine through his kisses. Slowly, slowly, slowly, both Emma and Clay pulled away from each other and breathed heavily, not wanting to stop but needing to catch their breath.

“Now we can go upstairs,” Emma whispered. And with that, Emma was swooped into his arms and brought back up to her room, where they settled in for the night, hoping that they would be able to enjoy this rare treat a little while longer, because tomorrow, tomorrow things would go back to normal again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the last chapter that is staying primarily intact, the next few should have major changes. As always let me know your thoughts and I'll see ya in the next one!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Watching as the boys went into their cages to get their jungle equipment, Jason watched as Emma started to fuss over Clay, smoothing his hair back off of his forehead and frowning slightly at the warmth of his skin. When Clay looked down at Emma, Jason was struck by the tenderness on his face, and then, once he got a good look, the concern started to creep in, but only if you were looking closely. His eyes tightened ever so slightly and some of the tension that was previously erased had come back into his shoulders. Maybe there was something that Jason should be concerned about after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The new stuff is beginning! You'll see it mixed in with some of the older stuff and hopefully it adds some depth and dimension. As always, let me know your thoughts and stay safe!

No matter how many times she drove home from school, she could never get over how much traffic there was at two o’clock in the afternoon. What was a twenty minute drive in the morning turned into easily forty five minutes in the afternoon after rehearsal during peak rush hour, leaving Emma’s mind to wander as she drove the familiar route home. 

And wander it did, as usual, to thoughts of Clay. 

They had been deployed for a little over a week on what was supposed to be a quick spin that turned into a series of quick spins. And while she was grateful to have the little communication she did have, Emma wanted him with her. She wanted to hug him tight and hold him close, and take what little comfort she could from his strength. Emma had watched for years as her mom said goodbye to her dad on the airstrip but she never thought that she would be kissing someone goodbye on that same strip. It was never the life she pictured for herself, but looking into Clay’s blue eyes, kissing his soft lips, she could never picture anything different. 

Emma blushed and started when a horn honked behind her. It was becoming a habit to think about the kisses that she and Clay had shared over the last few weeks. Their ‘alone’ time had been few and far between, but they had been … something. Heart pounding, face flushing, palms sweating and toe-curling something. For the most part they stayed chaste, but just before Clay walked onto that plane, he kissed her and Emma felt as if he had been holding back the entire time they had been together. And almost as if he knew that he had kissed her breathless, he tipped her chin up with his fingers and Emma melted into the floor at his words, voice slightly deeper than normal: “I’m coming back to you, Emmie K.”

Then he jogged onto the plane and she was rooted into that same spot, tracing over her lips gently. Eventually she moved back into the car and towards home but since that morning on the airstrip it had been replaying in her mind over and over again. 

Along with some alternate versions of how it might’ve ended if their situation was a little different. Neither of them had talked about it, but Emma wanted more. It was like being given a taste of something and then not having the opportunity to have it again. 

_ Emma, you’re being silly,  _ she thought to herself.  _ He’s coming home, just hold out till then _ . And it was the truth, earlier that day she had gotten an update with her last check in. they had finished up their last spin and it would only be a few more days until they were stateside again, hopefully for longer than a few days.

By the time Emma got home, the sun had long since set. The house was quiet and dark, meaning that Mikey had gone somewhere and forgotten to let her know. Hopefully he had left a note somewhere or she had just missed a text from him. It was hard coming home to an empty house, no one to greet her or chat with her while she made dinner. 

_ A few more days, Em,  _ she thought to herself as she ate dinner in the empty kitchen. Washing up, Emma threw on one of Clay’s t-shirts that she had stolen from his place and snuggled into bed with her phone, volume turned as loud as it would go. The last thing Emma wanted was to miss a phone call while she was sleeping, seeing Clay’s face was worth any missed sleep. As she was drifting to sleep, the last conscious thought in her mind was of his safety and the promise of seeing Clay again. 

* * *

* * *

The rest of the bunk was quiet, the sounds of his brothers sleeping around him was almost punishment enough for the ache in his head and the sweat dripping down his back. He wished he could sleep, hoping that he would dream about going back home to Emma, but all he got for his trouble was a hacking cough and a swirling feeling in his gut.  _ If this is what Emma felt like last week, she’s far tougher than any SEAL,  _ he thought to himself, gut rolling. The last thing he wanted to do was wake Trent for something minor, likely he wouldn't even do anything because there wasn’t anything  _ to  _ do, but Clay couldn’t lay in his bunk any longer. Scrambling down the rickety ladder, Clay took his phone and a light blanket out of the bunk house to the small court a ways away from the bunk house. Calculating the time difference in his head, Clay pressed Emma’s contact, hoping that she would wake up despite it being early morning over there. The phone rang and rang for a good minute or two and Clay was beginning to give up hope when the picture started to buffer and he caught a glimpse of her shining blonde hair.

“Hey sleepyhead,” Clay chuckled, looking at Emma’s eyes still closed as she smiled. He could make out her features in the dark of the room, but when the lamp clicked on, his breath caught in his throat. 

Emma was in bed, wearing his shirt and smiling at him like he hung the moon and all Clay wanted was to be in that bed next to her.

“Clay, hi,” Emma mumbled, rubbing at her eyes. Clay smiled at the image she presented and then swallowed heavily when he realized that she was only wearing his t-shirt as her chest swayed while she sat in bed.  _ Eye up, Spenser! _ He scolded himself, momentarily forgetting the ache in his belly at the sight of her. 

“Sorry to wake you, Em,” Clay said, regretting that she was losing sleep because he wanted to be selfish. 

“No, no, no, it’s ok, I have to be up in a bit soon anyways. What’s up, Clay?”

For a moment, Clay debated pretending that everything was fine, that he didn’t feel sick, but that wasn’t what he really called her for. He didn’t want to have to pretend that he was ok, not like he did with the guys. Closing his eyes, Cly admitted, “Em, I feel like shit.”

There was rustling and Emma looked more awake when he finally opened his eyes. Tears were stinging at the back of his throat and for a second he thought that they really would fall. He loved operating and being with his brothers, but Clay longed for the moments that they shared where he didn’t have to act tough or put up a front that everything was ok. He could be his authentic self with her and right now that authentic self was miserable. 

“Oh honey, I’m sorry,” Emma said softly, wishing she could sweep his curls off of his sweaty forehead. “What hurts?”

Clay blew out a breath before answering shakily, “Everything. I feel like my head is going to explode, I’m hot, I’m tired, it’s miserable. And there’s nothing that I can even take because it’s not a true illness, I just feel like shit.”

“Have you told anyone? Maybe Uncle Trent would give you something?” Emma suggested, trying to think of anything that could help him.

“No I haven’t said anything, everyone else is still sleeping and it’s going to be an early morning for us as well. If it’s still bad when everyone gets up, I’ll say something. I just wanted to see your face for a bit.”

“You got it Clay,” Emma said yawning for a bit and stretching, unknowingly making Clay choke on his own saliva. How this girl could captivate his mind when he felt like hot garbage was beyond him, but she did it effortlessly. “Clay, are you sure that you’re ok?”

“I’m sure, Em, I’ll be ok in the morning,” Clay reassured her, not wanting to fret over something that she couldn’t control. 

“How can I help you, babe, tell me something that I can do,” Emma pleaded with him, gnawing on her bottom lip. 

“Tell me about something beautiful,” Clay asked, pulling the blanket tighter around his shoulders. 

“I can do that,” Emma said quickly, launching into the complete rundown of the orchestral arrangement that they were using for a new piece that they were working on in class. She knew that Clay wouldn’t be able to ‘hear’ it like she did, but it was beautiful and would do the trick for now. Before long, Clay’s eyes started to droop and Emma started singing lightly, hoping that it would persuade him to go back inside and nap for a few more hours. When the song was finished, Clay was still holding the phone but was fast asleep, mouth open slightly. Sighing, Emma sat her phone up so that he could see him and laid back down on her own pillow, pretending that they were together as she drifted off to sleep. 

* * *

* * *

“Trent,” Ray hissed, unhappy that he was being pulled from his nice, warm bed. “What the hell are we doing here?”

“The Kid’s not in his bunk, not at the head, and not in TOC. If he’s gone missing or we lost him,  _ again _ , I’m not looking for his ass alone,” Trent replied, striding quickly past the bunk house and stopping short. Of all the damn places that he had looked for Clay, he didn’t take the time to look in the most obvious of places. 

“You mean the Kid that’s sitting right there?” Ray snarked, still unhappy at the turn of events. It had been a brutal and punishing week and they were all running on fumes at this point. 

“Ok so we found him, but something’s still wrong, look at him,” Trent gestured towards Clay as if it would explain his entire rationale for being concerned. 

They looked on from behind the small courtyard as Clay played with his phone before speaking gently. The sound of his voice carried through the calm night and Ray and Trent didn’t know what to do. It was clear that his conversation wasn’t one that they were meant to overhear, as Clay wasn’t usually that transparent or vulnerable, but they did. 

“Did you know about this?” Trent questioned Ray, thinking that maybe Clay had confided in him. 

“I didn’t even know that he wasn’t feeling well,” Ray replied, watching as Clay’s shoulders relaxed from around his ears and an easy smile flitting across his face. “He looks different when he talks to her.”

“That’s because he doesn’t know we’re watching him, I’m sure he wouldn’t be this open if he thought that he had an audience.”

“I don’t get why, though. We all know that they’re together, that they’re for keeps. Why would he feel like he had to hide that from us?”

“I don’t know Ray, I don’t think we’ll ever know the parts of him that Emma knows just like she’ll never know what it’s like to operate with him. It’s a part of him that he doesn’t want to share with us and we need to be ok with that.”

“He still doesn’t look right,” Ray mumbled, rubbing the back of his head lightly. While he was still annoyed at being woken, it looked like Trent’s spidey senses were still kicking. Even from a distance, Ray could tell that he was sweating, and sat slightly hunched over.

“Maybe, maybe not. He’ll come to us if he needs us,” Trent said, pulling Ray back towards the bunks. Clay might have needed them, but in that moment, all he really needed was over six thousand miles away and if he took comfort from a facetime video, Trent wasn’t about to spoil that for him.

* * *

* * *

After another successful mission, Clay wasn’t sure why he felt so crappy. He got to make fun of Sonny’s fear of sharks, schwack a few bad guys, and didn’t have to translate for anyone, and even found time to Facetime Emma; all in all a good mission. Coughing again, Clay contemplated taking another liquid gel, but that would make four for today, double the recommended dose for one 24 hours period. Clay knew that he should go get Trent, he was most likely dehydrated and catching the same flu that Emmie had, but then again he didn’t exactly want to admit to the guys exactly how he had gotten sick or that he hadn’t told anyone for almost a week that he wasn’t feeling well. Thinking about kissing Emma left a dopey grin on his face, reminiscing about her soft skin and smooth lips, and the way her arms wrapped around his shoulders. The way that she fit under his chin. A boot kicking his hammock shook him out of his thoughts as Sonny walked past him to grab another beer.

“Lookie here at Romeo with the stupid grin on his face. Two guesses as to what he’s thinkin’ about” Sonny chuckled, happy that Clay had something to smile about for once. When Clay didn’t respond to his jibe, Sonny’s face fell and he took a closer look at Clay. A pale face, sweat soaked forehead, and red eyes looked back up at him as if they were willing him to stop the motion of the hammock. 

“Trent!” Sonny hollered, which got everyone’s heads to pop up. Everyone for the most part accepted that he was going to be teasing Clay for the foreseeable future about the ‘thing’ that was between him and Emma, but Sonny calling for Trent after no injuries were reported was different, that was serious. 

“What’s up Son,” Trent said from his corner in the back where he was studying a medical textbook, something about the pathophysiology of dehydration or some other nonsense that only made sense to Trent.

“Need you to come take a look at Romeo, he’s got that look that Sunshine had,” Sonny called out, an extra twang coming through displaying his worry. 

With a sigh, Trent closed his book and got ready to tell Sonny that all Clay needed was some good sleep and for him to stop yammering about a relationship that no one really wanted to examine too closely, it was his niece after all. But when he got closer to Clay and really looked at the kid, he couldn’t ignore the miserable look on his face.  _ Ray was right _ , he thought to himself.  _ He doesn’t look right and sitting out in the cold last night probably didn’t do him any good. _

“Sonny, I have a cold. It’ll go away. We’ve all been spun up sick a time or two-” and with that the meager food that Clay had managed to eat reappeared as he heaved.

By now, all eyes were on Sonny and Clay, and Trent ambled back to the other end of the plane to get his med kit. Drawing up a syringe of Clay-approved medication, he prepared to inject the kid before he could hurl anything else and dehydrate on him. Swiftly jabbing the needle in the muscle of his arm, Trent waited for the entire amount of medication to go in before getting him up and settling him in another hammock. After a few minutes Trent assumed that everything was going to be fine and sat back down next to Jason. 

“He good?” Jason asked Trent, worried that he wasn’t going to be able to go from one spin up to the next training OP that was coming down the pike for them. The call had come in just as they were finishing up the first OP.

“Should be, if it’s the same thing that Em had we caught it early and can treat the symptoms while we’re home and in training, nothing too strenuous. He should be fine to spin up after that.”

But of course, this was Clay and nothing could be further from the truth. Something was going to go wrong. Clay shot up, looked back at Trent, and proceeded to get out of his hammock and vomit violently into the hammock that he had previously ruined.

Trent sighed, Jason cursed, and Lisa got out her phone. 

“What do you boys want me to do?” Lisa was ready to call in the calvary on base to come get their boy if Trent decided it was necessary. Another niggling thought was coming to the surface, but she ignored it for the moment, sure that Trent would have a plan in place. She should call Emma if he was going to the infirmary on base, the girl would have a litter of kittens if she found out after the fact.

“Well, he’s not training today. Can’t have him vomiting every other minute” Jason stated matter of factly, even though he didn’t really want the Kid out of his sight for longer than was absolutely necessary, the Kid liked to wander.

“So we’re gonna leave him in the infirmary?” Trent exclaimed, incredulously. “I’d rather stay back myself and deal with his sick ass than leave him with people that don’t know what they’re giving him.”

“We can’t run a team of four, that’s not happening” Blackburn interjected from the other side of the cargo bay.

“I’m fine guys, just give me an IV bag and I’ll get over it” Clay mumbled after being crouched down on the ground near Cerberus.

“Boy be quiet, no one believes that horse crap,” Sonny exclaimed, trying to pull him up once again, but dropped him once again as he couldn’t get a good grip on his sweat soaked skin. Clay hit the deck and groaned, grabbing his head, feeling decidedly worse than before. 

Jason looked down at the watch on his wrist, calculated the amount of time it would take for the plane to reach the tarmac. Looked at Clay again. Looked back down at his watch. Turned to Davis and sighed. “Call Emma, have her come and pick ‘em up. She’ll know what to do with him.”

“Brother, you want Emma to come get him?” Ray questioned quietly, not wanting to do so publicly. Yes it was his job to question Bravo One, but that didn’t mean he had to do it in front of everyone else. 

“Yeah,” Jason said, turning to face Ray, away from the rest of his brothers who were trying to get Clay back into a hammock without causing him to feel nauseous again. “She’ll take care of him better than if we sent him to the base infirmary and I know that if I don’t tell her that he’s sick, she’ll be upset. Two birds, one stone. Besides Ray, what trouble could they possibly get up to with him looking like that?” 

Both men looked at Clay, sweating and pale, hardly able to keep his head upright, and they chuckled. This was possibly the best time for them to be alone together with no supervision.

“Boss? Emmie’s picking me up?” Clay mumbled from his hammock, unsure that he had heard right. It was one thing for him to be ok with being ‘close’ to his daughter but another for him to sanction time alone together, for an undisclosed amount of time.

“Yeah Kid, she’s gonna come get your ass, I just gotta have someone call her in.”

“If you don’t call her, she’s gonna freak out,” But Clay was quickly ignored as Jason walked towards Lisa, the only one who had a phone that could call Emma’s cell from the plane. 

“Davis, you mind calling Emma?” Jason asked, scratching his hand down his beard, feeling a bone weariness approaching.

“Sure thing Jay, give me two seconds.” Lisa tried to give herself as much privacy as she could, knowing that Emma would have more questions for her than she wanted to answer in front of the team. The girl’s whole family was on the plane, and if she was calling from the sky, something was wrong. Lisa dialed the number, waited as it rang, and rang, and rang before clicking to voicemail. 

Huh. 

That was weird, Emma always answered the SAT phone’s number. Giving her a minute, Lisa dialed the phone again, this time it picked up the second ring.

“Emma?” Lisa said gently, not wanting to startle the girl with a harsh tone. But at hearing sniffles on the other line, she said it a little more urgently, this time getting the attention of the men. “Emma!”

“Yeah Aunt Lisa,” she said sniffling, not wanting to admit that she was crying over something stupid, like missing her boyfriend in her empty house. 

“You ok kid?” Lisa asked gently, unsure if she should even be asking Emma to come get Clay if she was upset. “How’s everything at home? Mikey?”

“Everything’s fine, Mikey’s ok. I’m just having a day,” Emma smiled, still slightly watery and sniffing slightly. She knew that Aunt Lisa would understand what she meant by ‘having a day’. Every single Navy wife that she had ever met used that phrase when they were missing their husbands, her own mother included. It was yet another thing she wished that she could share with her mother, another pang of grief adding to her own frustrated tears that continued to fall.

“Then why are you crying,” At that every man started to edge closer. Jason made grabbing motions with his hand for the phone and Clay staggered to the front of the line, holding onto Sonny, who was clenching and unclenching his fist, ready to deliver a smack down to whoever had brought rain clouds over his sunshine. 

“It’s nothing, I’m PMSing and upset, tell the boys to settle.” Emma could picture the scene in front of her, sure that Clay was hounding Davis for the phone. “It’s really nothing to worry about.” Then Emma paused and realized that Aunt Lisa was calling from the Sat phone. “Is everything ok? Why are you calling from the sky?”

Covering the receiver of the phone, Davis looked at boys’ stricken faces. “It’s fine boys, lady problems.” Sonny put his hands over his ears, not wanting to hear more than that, but doing so disrupted Clay and brought everyone’s attention to the real reason that Lisa was calling Emma. Softening her gaze, she looked at Clay who was now being supported by Ray.

“Alright Aunt Lisa, what’s going on? I know you didn’t call me just to get an update. Clay told me that you were all on your way home.” Emma took a deep breath, and cleared the tears out of her eyes. 

“Mention anything else?” Davis wondered if Clay had been more honest with Emma than with the rest of the team. Something that she had noticed on Clay’s early days on Bravo. He would go up high somewhere with his phone and come back calmer, more alert. It was later on that she realized that he was talking to Emma, but that wasn’t her piece of information to share with the class.

“No, he said that he was tired and wasn’t feeling great, but that’s normal for him after so many missions” Emma replied, thinking back to their conversation last night. He wasn’t feeling great, but it wasn’t that he was feeling sick either.

“Trent thinks -” Lisa started, ready to regale the whole story to Emma.

“Trent? Why did he need Trent?” Emma cut her off, rapidly getting her things together, as if it would get her to Clay faster. 

“He’s fine Emma, sick with the same thing you had last week.” Lisa soothed, looking back at the boys. Turns out that Clay was right, as soon as someone mentioned that Clay was unwell, she went into panic mode

“Oh,” Emma hissed, remembering the miserable feeling that came with being sick and puking her guts out. Over. And over. And over. “Are you calling because he wants to talk to me or…?” Emma trailed off, still unsure of why she was being called. She was appreciative that she was being called, but there had to be something that she was missing here.

“The boys are getting ready for a training OP as soon as they touch down, they need you to come and pick Clay up, no way he’s mission ready right now and your dad doesn’t want to let him out of his sight right now.”

“Oh,” Emma said softly.

“Is that alright? Something’s up Em, what’s going on?” And once again, the boys' ears perked up and they all listened intently to the one sided conversation, trying to glean any information from Davis’ facial expressions. 

“Yeah, no, it’s fine Aunt Lisa, I just wasn’t expecting that. Are you sure that he shouldn’t go to a hospital? I doubt I’m picking him and Uncle Trent up to come back to my place.”

“Trent said that it was fine for him to come stay with you for a few days, doesn’t think that it’s anything more serious than you had. Naima is home so if he manages to surprise ya, she can come over.” The boys all glanced over at Clay, wondering if it was a good idea after all for him to be going over to Emma’s without one of them nearby. 

“Ok Aunt Lisa, I’ll be ready, am I’m coming to pick him up on the tarmac or are you all coming back onto the base?”

“We’re coming to the base, gotta grab some different equipment for the next one, should be touching down in a half hour, that gonna be enough time for you to get to the base from school?”

“Yeah, I’ll be there by then. I need clearance though, they’re not just going to let onto the base.” Emma worried her bottom lip with her top teeth. Now that she knew that she was going to be able to see Clay, she wanted to have the fastest travel time to get to him as possible.

“Don’t worry about that, I’ll make sure that you can get on base.”

“Alright Aunt Lisa, I’ll see you all soon. Make sure my dad isn’t too grumpy when he de-planes, and tell Sonny that he had better leave Clay alone when he’s not feeling well”

“I will Em, we’ll see you in twenty minutes.” With that she chuckled and looked over at Jason, shaking her head.

“What?” Jason wondered what Davis could find so funny after getting off the phone with his eldest child.

“Nothing, she just reminded me of Alana the first time I had to call her mid-flight, giving orders before we even got stateside.” Chuckling as she made her way past Jason and towards Clay, who was sitting up leaning against Sonny. 

“Hey there, we gotta get you ready to walk down the tarmac. Emma will not take it well if I have to drag you back to your cage.”

“I’m good Davis, I can pull it together long enough to walk towards Emma and get in her car. She’s gonna know that I feel like crap, she always does.” Clay moved to pack his book back into his pack and drained the rest of the gatorade that had seemingly materialized itself in Trent’s hands for him, the blue kind that he liked more than the orange one that Emma favored. 

“Yeah Davis, I’ll deliver Romeo to Juliet safe and sound before going to my own personal version of hell. Any chance I get to stay behind instead?” Sonny joked, trying to get a rise out of Clay and Davis.

“Not a chance in hell, Sonny, you’re stuck with me for a while longer.” With that she clapped Clay on the shoulder and went to go sit next to Blackburn, who was holding his head in his hands, and attempt to close her eyes for the next twenty minutes before they had to be mission ready again. 

* * *

* * *

Emma was anxious. Logically, she knew that everything was going to be fine. Clay was sick, but not dying. The rest of her family was fine, all coming home in one piece. She just needed to see them with her own eyes, then she would be fine. Turns out she didn’t have to wait for very much longer, as she heard the tell-tale snicker and joking as the men came into the room, sweaty, dirty, but very much alive. Rising from her seat, Emma walked over to her father, happy that he came back home to her again.

“Hi daddy,” Emma sighed as she hugged him tightly

“Hey Em,” He pulled away from their hug and looked at her face, unhappy with the bags that were present underneath them and the slight redness that betrayed the fact that she had recently been crying. As Emma went to hug her other uncles, Jason looked over at Clay to try and see if he was worried. The kid usually had a better radar for worrying about his daughter than he did, if he wasn’t worried, then Jason wasn’t going to push. 

Clay looked peaceful and gently smiled when Emma placed a small kiss on his cheek. Watching as the boys went into their cages to get their jungle equipment, Jason watched as Emma started to fuss over Clay, smoothing his hair back off of his forehead and frowning slightly at the warmth of his skin. When Clay looked down at Emma, Jason was struck by the tenderness on his face, and then, once he got a good look, the concern started to creep in, but only if you were looking closely. His eyes tightened ever so slightly and some of the tension that was previously erased had come back into his shoulders. Maybe there was something that Jason should be concerned about after all. 

“Kid, would you sit down before you fall down? I don’t want to have to carry you out to Em’s car.” Jason ordered, turning around to give them some privacy. He had intruded enough already. Seeing Clay’s relief at being seated, Jason chuckled to himself. If he was in Clay’s shoes, he wouldn’t want to look weak in front of Alana when they were first dating. It seemed like Clay was very much the same way.

“I’m good boss,” Clay protested. Emma snorted and everyone looked at her face in disbelief, not quite sure that they had heard her correctly. 

“You are not good here Clay, definitely sick.” Emma protested, slightly worried at the glazed look in his eyes and the sweat beading on his forehead.

“I’m sick Em, not dying,” Clay whispered gently, catching her hand and holding it. The tenderness of his voice made the boys in the room turn away, still feeling like they were intruding on something that they weren’t supposed to see.

“I know,” Emma felt the tears pricking up at her eyes again and looking into Clay’s eyes, he saw them too. With a shake of her head, she cleared her throat again and watched as the boys walked out of their cages, resuited up for their simulation. Jason stopped by them once more and gave Emma a kiss on her head.

“Take care of each other, call Davis or Naima if you need them,” He glared at Emma, still slightly upset that she hadn’t called someone when she was sick. 

“I will,” Emma swore, still looking worriedly at Clay. After a quick hug, Jason jogged to catch up with the rest of the team as they walked back off the base towards the tarmac, leaving Clay and Emma alone in cages.

Once they were finally alone in the cages and the plane had taken off, carrying the remaining members of Bravo off to some foreign jungle, Emma and Clay were left alone, at last. Emma began to go through Clay’s cage while he dozed in his seat, getting things that she thought he would need for a few days in a bag so that they could go right home and rest. Glancing at his face, Emma was struck by how young he looked when he was asleep.

“Clay,” Emma shook his shoulder gently, trying to stay out of the line of fire while waking him. She had had too many experiences when she was waking either her father or one of her uncles from a night terror and they reacted violently.

“I’m up, Emmie, we ready to go?” Clay got himself to his feet, swaying slightly. Taking his bag from her shoulder, wrapped his arm around her shoulder and took the keys from her fingers.

“No way, I’m driving if you’re sick Clay.” Emma stopped firmly before the car, holding her hand out expectantly.

“Emmie K, I’m good!”

“Clay, you are not good if they grounded you from training, you’re sick.” Clay had dropped his bag into the bed of the truck and turned to face the girl. Seeing the worry on her face, Clay sighed and bent down to place a kiss on her forehead before relinquishing the keys.

“Thank you Clay,” Emma swung herself into the front seat of the truck and began the short drive home. Glancing over every so often at Clay, Emma smiled as he fell into a light doze once more. Parking the car, Emma got the bag out of the bed of the truck before going into the house and putting it upstairs in her room before going out to get Clay. Walking slowly, Emma led Clay up to her bed and got him settled in the bed, similar to the set up that they had had a week ago, except Clay was the one with the trash can next to his head. Sitting down at her desk, Emma pulled out her homework and got to work while Clay napped, content that she had gotten her wish to be with him.

That was all she ever wanted, and maybe a kiss or two thrown in there, but mostly just to be with him. 


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Which one, Clay,” Jason looked at him with hard eyes, waiting to see what the man would choose and if it would be the same choice that he would have made if Swanny had given him this ultimatum when he was still in BUDS while dating Alana.
> 
> Not wanting to make the choice, Clay hesitated slightly. Thinking about the things that he would miss if he were to stop operating, but then thought of Emma’s smile, her kind eyes, the way her voice sounded when she got fired up. The way it felt to kiss her and knowing that she loved him without ever having to say the words; he had his answer. “Her, any day of the week, any time, over and over again. If it means that I’d have to stop operating or switch to a different team Jace, I would do it. Say the word.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know your thoughts, and recommendations! Anything you're looking forward to seeing the two of them tackle / what you think Emma's opinions are going to be

The next time that Clay woke up, Emma was lying down next to him curled in between a pillow and a spare blanket that she had pulled from the closet. Reaching over to put a piece of hair behind her ear from in front of her face, Clay was struck by how much he cared for this girl, how much he was growing to love her. He needed to talk to Jason about this, Clay thought ruefully. If he was thinking about a future with his Master Chief’s daughter, it might be a good idea to keep him on the same page, no matter how uncomfortable that conversation might be. Clay felt worlds better than he did on the plane, grateful that whatever Trent had injected had made him stop vomiting, even if he still felt a little weak. Unable to resist, Clay shifted closer towards and kissed her forehead, waking the girl gently. 

“What a way to wake up,” Emma whispered, looking into Clay’s eyes, pupils blown wide, making the blue of her eyes darken.

“Hey Emmie K,” Clay whispered, equally soft, not wanting to shatter the moment between them. Clay took in the sight of her sleep tousled hair and pink lips, before flicking his eyes back up to Emma’s before he leaned in once more.

Emma felt a gentle pressure on her lips and thought that she was dreaming for a moment, sure that Clay couldn’t actually be in her room, on her bed, kissing her, alone. But as Emma became more aware, she realized that Clay was indeed in her bed and, well, if a girl wanted to take advantage of some alone time, that was her prerogative. 

Blinking coyly at Clay, Emma could see that Clay was contemplating what to do, unsure of what his next move should be. When Clay began to lean in once more, Emma took a deep breath and slotted her lips on his, more firmly than she had ever before, and a spark shot through her. Her hands rested on Clay’s chest and she let the dizzying effect of Clay’s kisses take her to a different place. Dragging her mouth back to breathe deeply, Emma rested her forehead against Clay’s as he dragged his mouth down her jaw and over her neck, shoving the pillow that rested between them to the bottom of the bed and pulling her closer so that her chest was pressed firmly against his.

“Clay,” Emma panted out, unsure of the feelings that were coursing through her. She felt hot and dizzy, but didn’t want him to stop.

“Yeah Em,” pressing a lingering kiss to the hollow of her throat next to the necklace that Jason had gotten her for her eighteenth birthday, Clay glanced up, ready for Emma to tell him to cool it off. “You wanna stop?” No matter how much Clay loved kissing this girl, if the word stop came out of her mouth, he was done, no questions asked. 

“No, no we’re good, I just… I don’t know how to… I’m not...” At Emma’s stuttering words, Clay softened and placed another soft kiss on her lips. 

“You don’t have to know how to do anything Em, all you have to do is tell me where the line is, and what feels good. Can you do that?” Emma’s arms came back to snake around his neck and she tucked her head back into the crook of his neck, and nodded her head. Sneaking a quick peek at Clay, she took another steadying breath, and tentatively started kissing the underside of his jaw, right where the ear meets the neck

Clay let out a quick gasp in surprise and pulled her closer to him, letting Emma do her thing and explore, not wanting to move too fast or startle the girl. As Emma got bolder and sucked harder on his neck, Clay pulled her back before she could give him a bruise that he wouldn’t be able to explain away when the boys got back. He sat up quickly and pulled Emma with him so that she was sitting on his lap, facing him. With their breaths mingling together, Clay asked, “We still good Emmie?”

Instead of answering Clay, she grabbed his hands which were lying next to her knees on the bed, and wrapped them around her waist before leaning in for another kiss. Taking the hint, Clay began to move his hands up and down her back while kissing her, daring himself to kiss harder. Clay nipped on her bottom lip and pulled back gently before swooping back in and placing another bruising kiss and felt Emma’s body react faster than her brain. Her back arched and her hips swiveled on top of him, pressing her body onto the hardness that was growing in his pants. 

Emma’s responding moan broke their kiss once more and Clay couldn’t help himself, dropping his lips down to her neck once more, this time daring to kiss where the strap of her camisole had started to fall, up and down her chest. Never moving the shirt that stayed firmly in place, Clay shifted his hands from their position on her back to rest gently on her stomach. Dragging his lips away from her chest, Clay looked at Emma’s blissed out expression and waited for her to focus on him again. When their eyes met, Emma bit her lip gently, and nodded, not quite wanting to stop just yet. She placed her hand on top of Clay’s and helped him move it until he was cupping her breast. The warmth and strength she felt from Clay’s hand pitched her forward until her head rested against his shoulder as she attempted to keep herself from crying out.

Watching Emma bite her lip was one of the sexiest things that Clay had seen in a very long time, but having her trust him enough to touch her intimately, was by far sexier than any other encounter Clay had ever had. Moving his hand gently, Clay watched Emma’s face as she tried to muffle her moans. That wasn’t going to do, they were alone, with no one even being close to listening in. Squeezing a little more firmly, Clay sucked Emma’s earlobe into his mouth pulling down gently with his teeth. The combined sensation of his hand on her breast and lips around her ear had Emma cry out, unprepared for the assault of sensation flooding through her body. After a few more kisses, each one lasting longer than the one before it, Clay shifted his hands away from her chest and moved them back down to her hips.

“Clay,” Emma whined, upset that he was no longer touching her.

“Yeah Emma?” Clay responded, trying to get his mind to focus. 

Frustrated by his lack of touch and seemingly unflustered appearance, Emma dragged her hips down on his once more and was pleased by the groan that came out, deep in his throat and the hard sensation underneath her hips that set her body on fire. 

“Em, we’re playing with fire here,” Clay warned her gently, still not wanting to relinquish his hold on her hips. 

“I know, I know,” Looking at Clay closely, she could see the strain of taking things slowly on his face and in the way that he gripped her hips, preventing her from moving on his lap. They were either going to stop here, or they were going further. The air around them was electrified with tension, but before either of them could lean in again, Emma’s phone rang and shattered the moment. 

“Shit,” Emma whispered, pushing her hair back from in front of her face and sitting side by side with Clay on her bed. Being brought back to reality so suddenly made her head spin, but not in the same way Clay had done just a moment before. 

“You gotta answer that, Em,” Clay prodded, handing her the phone. The longer she let it ring the worse it would be when she answered the phone. 

“No way, that’s not a good plan,” Emma said, shaking her head back and forth. “We’re supposed to be sleeping.”

“And we did sleep, no one else has to know what happens between us when the door’s closed, Em. I promise you, the time we spend together isn’t scuttlebutt. It’s between us.”

The phone stopped ringing and the silence in the room was suffocating, not even the sound of their harsh breathing penetrating the fog that encapsulated Emma’s mind. When the phone rang again, Clay took it from her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulders gently. This conversation needed to happen when they actually had the time and presence of mind to discuss it, not when they were on a time crunch with their family breathing down their necks. 

“Hey Davis,” Clay said softly. Emma’s eyes got wide more and she started breathing faster, afraid of what was happening on the other end of the line. The thoughts of her family discovering that her and Clay had been making out seconds before when they were supposed to be resting flew out the window, leaving scarier thoughts in its place.  _ Did the training go badly? Did something happen on the way home? Are they being spun up? _

“Clay?” Lisa questioned, wondering why he was answering Emma’s phone. “Is Emma ok? What happened?” The boys once again crowded near Davis as she talked to Clay

“Nah, she’s fine. She’s just asleep next to me, want me to wake her?” 

“No, no, don’t wake her, she needs to get some sleep.” At her words the boys all relaxed again and settled back into their seats. Emma sleeping was a valid enough reason for her not to answer the phone, especially lately as she wasn’t getting nearly enough sleep. “Just wanted to let you know that we’re finished, coming home in two, maybe three hours. How are you feeling?”

At this Clay felt a little guilty, as he didn’t feel sick to his stomach anymore, but didn’t feel good either. He probably should have trained with the boys, but was also grateful for the alone time that he got to spend with Emma. “I’m feeling better, haven’t puked since the plane. Lots of sleep. Still feel like Sonny trampled me with his boot though.”

“Alright Clay, you get some more rest. I’ll try and corral the boys and keep them away.” At her words the sounds of chuckles filled the aircraft and she knew that there was no way that they would pass up an opportunity to tease their youngest member, but she would try.

Hanging up the phone, Clay looked at Emma and knew that she was still wound up, her flushed skin, wide eyes, and heaving chest confirmed that. 

“Clay, I, what did we just do? What does this mean?” Emma came back down to Earth and looked at Clay’s face, his lips were swollen and he smiled gently at her.

“Emmie K, I think you know what we were doing,” Clay grabbed her hand and held it. “As far as what this means? It means that we’re exploring the parts of this relationship, whether you want to call it ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’ is up to you. We’re on the same page here Em, I follow your lead.”

“And if this is all I want for now?” Emma inquired hesitantly, unsure if she was supposed to be doing more than this.  _ She _ knew that she wanted more, and could one day see herself having sex with Clay, but didn’t know how to communicate that to Clay. 

“Then that’s all we do for now, although I would like to do other things besides lying in a bed with you at some point.” Clay chuckled. “No one’s rushing into anything Em, promise.”

“You’re talking about going on dates?” Emma said slowly, unsure if Clay was really talking about having a relationship with her or if it was just going to be fooling around. 

“Yeah Em, and seeing where this goes. You ok with that?” Clay asked gently, trying to get into Emma’s mind. He didn’t want to put unnecessary pressure on whatever they ‘were’ right now, not when everything was so fresh and new. 

“I am very much ok with that.” With a smile, she yawned gently and snuggled back into Clay. “Let’s go back to sleep Clay, I’m sure there’s still time before the boys come back.”

* * *

* * *

Jason sat down on the couch with his beer and flipped on the TV, hoping that there would be something playing that would distract him from his daughter and his rookie sleeping. Together. In the same bed. No matter how innocent it looked right now, Jason thought ruefully to himself. If he was in that bed with Alana at Clay’s age… it wouldn’t be innocent for long. It was times like this that Jason longed for his wife to calm him down with a well placed kiss and a beer, but that would have to wait a long time. His kids needed him first. Well at least Mikey needed him, Emma has someone else to help him take care of her now. Hearing heavy footsteps on the stairs, Jason knew it was Clay coming down, but was still unprepared for what he was going to say to him. On one hand, he wanted to forbid him from spending more time with his daughter, but the angel on his shoulder that sounded particularly Alana - like reminded him not to waste something good.

“Hey Jace,” Clay said, walking up behind him and standing by kitchen island.

“Hey Kid.”

Both men stood in silence for a moment, then Clay sat down on one of the stools surrounding the island and Jason remembered exactly why they were in this predicament to begin with, Clay tossing his cookies. 

“You feeling any better?” Jason stood from the couch and walked over, intent on looking at his face for any signs of illness. 

“Better boss, probably should have gone on the OP with you guys, would have been fine.” Clay stated, still feeling guilty that he had skipped out on an OP with his brothers to hang out with Emma for an evening. 

“Don’t worry about it, it was open and shut. Besides, knowing your luck you would have caught some tropical virus and be worse off than before. And then Emma would really kill me”

At Emma’s name, both men went silent again, each not sure how to bring up the conversation that they both needed to have. Jason went to go grab another beer and offered one to Clay, who shook his head. Shrugging, Jason handed him a bottle of water and stood across from him.

“Alright, we have to have this conversation sooner or later. I’d prefer to never be having this conversation with one of my men, but this is where we are.”

Clay gulped, and then looked at Jason in the eyes. “What do you want to know?”

“I think we start with where you think this is going to go?” Jason said, staring him dead in the eyes. 

“Boss, we talked about this when the boys were here. I can’t see my life without Emma in it, and I don’t want to picture a life without her. Isn’t that enough?”

Jason took a second to think about his answer before pacing back and forth between the couch and the kitchen. Running his hands through his hair, he looked at Clay. “I’m glad that you want to plan a life with her, but there has to be a way we can work through this and stay sane. Are you going to be dating my daughter Clay? Be straight with me, is that where this is going? Because it’s one thing to want to have someone in their life, but another thing if it’s going to be more than the friendship that you two share, and to be completely honest with, I’m not so sure that it really is just a ‘friendship’.”

Clay looked at his hands, then back up at Jason. “Jace, I want to be able to take Emma on dates, I want to be the one that she calls when she’s in trouble, I want to be the one that she thinks about when she’s planning her life. I want to be that person, and I know that it puts us in a weird spot with me being on your team, and with me being older. But I’m not going to stop caring for her, and until she says so, this is where I’m going to be.”

Jason nodded, trying to hide his approval; there was still that small hint of doubt in his mind and he needed to put it to rest. “And if I make you choose? The team or her, which is it going to be?”

“Are you saying that you’re going to make me choose Jason? Either I get to be with Emma or I get to operate?” Clay stated incredulously, standing up to look at Jason, who stood in the middle of the kitchen.

“Which one, Clay,” Jason looked at him with hard eyes, waiting to see what the man would choose and if it would be the same choice that he would have made if Swanny had given him this ultimatum when he was still in BUDS while dating Alana.

Not wanting to make the choice, Clay hesitated slightly. Thinking about the things that he would miss if he were to stop operating, but then thought of Emma’s smile, her kind eyes, the way her voice sounded when she got fired up. The way it felt to kiss her and knowing that she loved him without ever having to say the words; he had his answer. “Her, any day of the week, any time, over and over again. If it means that I’d have to stop operating or switch to a different team Jace, I would do it. Say the word.”

His words rang out true, the silence following them was deafening. Neither of the men moved, staring at the other and waiting for someone to break the stare. Jason broke first, tearing his eyes away from Clay and running his hands through his hair before turning away from Clay to pace again.

“Sit down Clay, you’re not transferring. Emma would kick my ass from here all the way back to Jbad if I kicked you off the team for dating her.”

Clay deflated slightly, relieved that he wouldn’t have to leave his brothers to date the woman he wanted to spend his life with. “Then why’d you make me answer that Jason, you already knew what my answer was going to be.”

Shaking his head, Jason looked at Clay. “It’s one thing to know what the answer should be, especially when it’s your kid, but another to hear it from your lips. Dads want to know that their children are going to be taken care of when they’re not there.”

“Nice to know,” Clay muttered, yet again at a disadvantage from having Ash as his father, instead of someone like Jason who would care for him enough to ensure his safety.

“His loss Kid, you got brothers now.” Jason came back to sit down across from Clay, feeling calmer now that he had some sort of answer for the relationship that was developing between his kids. “We still have to figure out how this is going to work, I might be ok with this but that doesn’t mean that I want to hear about it, she’s still my daughter.”

“I don’t think the boys would really take any joking that far boss, they know it’s Emma and that neither of us is going to be ok with them talking smack about her. I won’t put up with it.” Clay thought about his brothers making crude jokes about Emma and his fist tightened around the water bottle, making the plastic crumple under his hand. 

“The minute that happens, you’re shutting them down Clay. I won’t stand for it,” Jason warned, thinking about the usual trash talk that happened in their cages. It was one thing to talk about a champagne lady that way, but another for it to be about his daughter. Hell, he didn’t even want to think about it.

“We’re on the same page here Jason, besides I don’t think they want to think about that one either, they’ve known Emma since she was born.”

“That’s the other thing, these boys are going to be incredibly protective of her. More so than me because I had the chance to see this coming, this is new for them.”

“So, what, they’re going to show up to each date that we go on? Stand here in the house before her curfew waiting to see if we break it? This turning into a rom-com boss?”

“I don’t really know, Sonny could come up with millions of ways for this to turn into a ‘Make-Fun-Of-Clay event, but that might not be the best thing either.” Jason sighed thinking of the look on Emma’s face if she found out that they were teasing him for going on dates with her. Or worse that they didn’t think she was a good fit for their rookie. 

“Em would not take that well, she’s already insecure about this whole thing.” Clay took the words right out of Jason’s head. 

“Emma, insecure?” Jason snorted, thinking that Clay was bullshitting. His daughter got up on stage and sang and danced and performed in an arena where all eyes were on her. The last word he would use to describe his daughter was insecure. 

“Yeah Jace, she is. You remember when you and Alana first started dating? You were older than her, right?”

“Yeah…” Jason wasn’t sure where he was going with this. He and Alana had known each other since they were six and nine years old. Everyone had seen their decision to start dating before they did, and their age had nothing to do with it. 

Of course, there were other things to think about  _ after  _ they started dating, but that was a different story entirely.

“Wasn’t she unsure of a lot of things in the beginning? Didn’t know which way was up?”

“It was a little different, she was already pregnant with Emma, we didn’t really have a choice but to try and figure it out together.” A moment passed, then Jason’s face got hard again. “You trying to tell me something there Clay?”

“What? No! Jesus Jason that’s what you picked up from that? You really think that I’d be talking to you of all people about that?”

Jason’s face relaxed, noting that the incredulity in Clay’s voice told more than he had originally stated. “Yeah, ok, Kid, I don’t want to hear about it, not now, not ever. I’m only going to tell you this once, and then we’re never going to speak about it again, you got me? Do not get my daughter pregnant.”

Clay’s face went red, and he put his head into his hands before turning to look at Jason. “And I’m going to say this once, and it applies to every aspect of our relationship Jason,” Clay said, waiting for Jason to look at him. Clay was confident that his answer was going to make things even more uncomfortable, but it needed to be said. “I follow her lead, what she wants. She’s in charge here.”

Jason nodded, swallowed heavily and drained the rest of his beer. 

“But Jason, we both have to play this carefully, Emma is … afraid of what’s to come. She won’t say it out loud, but I know her.” Clay looked earnestly at his boss, trying to get across that Emma needed to be protected from any judgement about this relationship.

“I didn’t want to say anything before, when we were getting ready to HAHO in after her last check in because the boys would have made a big deal about it, but she’s not doing well is she, Clay? She’s not sleeping.”

“No, and I’m worried. She’s not sleeping, but she won’t talk to me about it, she just says that it’s for her to worry about-”

“... and that you should worry about coming home? Alana used to say that shit to me all the time, always made me worry more than if she just told me what was bothering her.” Jason agreed, thinking back to the times when Alana would shut him out of her life, trying to protect him from the stresses that she was experiencing at home. 

The men yet again fell into silence, although this was one that felt decidedly more comfortable as they were on the same page. Lost in their thoughts, neither man noticed when Emma walked into the kitchen, startling when she wrapped her arms around Clay from behind and resting her face on his shoulder. 

If they were going to be making decisions, now was definitely the time for Emma to make her opinions known, for better or for worse. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “Em, I’m not looking for anything besides what you’re giving me, and I don’t really agree with the sentiment that you’re ‘giving’ me anything,” Clay said firmly, trying to make his point known. “I’m not going to sit here and say that one day in the future, I won’t want to make love to you or that I don’t want to have that intimate connection with you, but it’s at your pace. I want you as Emma Kate, not what Emma’s body can do.” Clay looked into her eyes, scanning them to see if she understood what he was saying. “Can I ask you a question, Emmie K?”

Once again Emma woke up alone in her bed. Feeling the space that Clay had occupied, it was now cold but there was still the lingering scent of his cologne on the sheets. The memory of the scent surrounding her and she kissed Clay’s neck made her tingle all over and a grin threatened to take over her entire face. Getting up, she walked over to the shower before pulling out some pajamas. It wasn’t really that late, but Emma didn’t foresee going out any time soon. It was almost time to make dinner, but some spaghetti wasn’t really that hard to whip up for Mikey and herself, Clay was probably gone by now. 

After her shower, Emma let her hair hang loose before sliding on the shirt that Clay had left the other day that she had secretly kept. Tying the long shirt tails in a knot by her hip, she put on her favorite pair of shorts on, the ones with the ruffled hem that made her legs look really nice. Walking down the steps, all of the lights were on and she could hear voices in the kitchen, so someone aside from her dad was home. Peering around the door frame, she saw Clay and her dad sitting at the kitchen island, looking lost in thought. Hesitating, Emma didn’t know where the line was. Clay and her had talked about where they stood, and she felt comfortable knowing that they were dating. But that didn’t mean that anyone had talked to her dad about it, she sure as hell wasn’t going to until he brought it up for himself. Throwing her shoulders back, Emma went and wrapped her arms around Clay’s broad shoulders and rested her face against his back, content that he had stayed and even more content to be near him. 

“Hey Emmie K, have a good nap?” Clay turned in his seat to give Emma a proper hug.

“It was alright,” Emma sighed and walked over to her father before giving him a hug. Relaxing into his comforting strength, Emma let herself go limp in his arms. 

“Hey Em, how are you?”

“I’m good, Dad, just tired.”

“You sleeping alright?” Jason looked into his daughter’s eyes, not entirely sure that she was going to be honest with him about what was bothering her.

“I’m fine,” Emma tried to insist, the bags under her eyes making her look like she’d been up for days instead of just waking up from a nap.

Seeing the staring match between Jason and Emma, Clay carefully took himself out of the conversation and sat himself down on the couch where Jason just was. Pulling the quilt off the back of the couch, he settled down into the cushion, feeling the effects of the long day and night. Besides, Jason and Emma needed to hash this out without anyone else listening in. 

“Emma, I don’t think that you’re telling me the truth here, you’re not ok.” Jason pulled Emma off of his chest and took one good look at her before tears started to fall down her cheeks. “Oh Em,” Jason sighed and pulled her under his chin.

“Daddy, I don’t even know why I’m crying. Nothing’s wrong, you’re both home and safe and here with me. But I’m just so tired.” Emma wiped at her eyes, and looked at her father, half expecting him to tell her that she was being ridiculous. 

“You’re under a lot of stress here Em, it’s not easy. Your mom struggled with it too, and she had people all around her to help. You do too, but it’s not the same.”  
“I can handle it dad, it just gets to be a lot sometimes. Taking care of Mikey, making sure that he gets to school on time and that I can do all of the work that I have to get done and apply to schools, and find time to hang out with my friends. And I know that there are people around me to help, but there’s not really anyone to help when it gets overwhelming and there’s nothing anyone can do about it.”

“What about Clay, Emma? You know he’d help out in a heartbeat if he could,” Jason pointed out, trying to get her to look at things from another point of view, no matter how much it hurt that he was no longer the person she looked for to solve her problems. 

“That’s just it Dad, sometimes there’s nothing that can be done and I don’t want to stress him out even further. It’s not fair to him that he has to deal with his problems and mine as well,” Emma said quietly, not wanting to admit that she didn’t trust Clay was all in with her. 

“Em, relationships like yours and Clay, are meant to be able to share burdens. He wants to know all of the stuff, not just the happy stuff. Your mom and I did that once upon a time and it was nice to have someone that would listen, even if they couldn’t fix the problem. It’s a little more difficult here because Clay and I get spun up, but if you really want to make it work with him baby, it’s going to take some time to adjust.”

“I’m guessing you both talked about it?” Emma said stiffly, not liking the way that Jason implied that there was a relationship without talking to her. 

“Yeah Em, as your father I talked to him, as his team leader I talked to him, as his friend I talked to him. We all have to be on the same page with this stuff, I’m sorry if that makes you uncomfortable but it needed to be done.”

“So what was the conclusion? I’m assuming it worked out well or Clay wouldn’t be knocked out on our couch.” Emma raised an eyebrow at her father, looking eerily similar to Alana.

“He’s got permission, so do you. Don’t make me lose my rookie Em,” Jason smiled softly when Emma’s face softened and she threw her arms around him in a gentle hug. “That doesn’t mean that I want to see it Em, not in the house and not in front of me. You’re still my daughter, no father wants to see their child… canoodling”

“Really dad? Canoodling?” Emma scoffed.

“Yes, really. Your choices are your own here, you’re grown enough to be able to do that. It doesn’t mean that I want to see those choices in my living room.”

“Ok, you won’t see any of it, I can promise you that.”

“But not that it won’t happen huh?”

Laughing, Emma looked back up at her father. “No, I won’t promise that one. And that’s as far are we’re going to take it, Mom covered this a long time ago.”

Raising his hands in defeat, Jason laughed and kissed his daughter’s head. “I’m going to the garage Em, make sure he either goes home or sleeps in a bed. And order something for dinner, take a night off of cooking.”

“If you say so Dad, that means it’s Chinese food tonight,” Emma giggled, knowing that her father tolerated Chinese food when he had to.

“Whatever you want Em,” Jason replied shaking his head as he opened the garage door. Content that whatever was going to happen on the other side of the door was what was right for his daughter who wasn’t quite so little anymore. 

* * *

* * *

Alone in the kitchen once more, Emma felt a sense of deja vu. The last time Clay and her were alone together in this place, it ended with Emma on his lap and kissing his neck, a position they often found themselves in lately. Emma giggled at the thought of the positions being reversed and Clay sitting on her lap. They were well matched for size, but Clay still towered over her by a good six inches. Walking over to the couch, Emma heard Clay’s soft snores as he dozed, probably still feeling a little under the weather from his bout of the flu, even if it wasn’t nearly as bad as her run with it. With his face relaxed in sleep, Clay looked more like the boys her age than the competent and deadly soldier that she knew he was.

“I can feel you staring at me Emmie,” Clay's soft voice broke the silence.

“Yeah, you’re just so nice to look at,” Emma joked back, happy just to be near him.

“I bet that’s why you keep me around, because of my handsome good looks huh”

“Definitely, that and other reasons.” Clay cracked his eyes open at Emma and got a good look at her half sitting on the arm of the couch. The first thing he saw was an eyeful of long legs covered in entirely too tiny shorts. Glancing up, he caught a glimpse of the shirt that Emma was wearing, his Bravo Six shirt with his name printed on the back. Taking a deep breath in, he attempted to control himself, still slightly unsure of where they stood from their time in her bed. Making out was one thing that they had down pat, but when she looked like that, Clay wanted more than just her lips on his. He wanted it all.  _ Control, Spenser,  _ he thought to himself, clenching his fists and recentering himself.

“So you talked to Dad?” Emma broke through his somewhat inappropriate thoughts about his girl, the sudden topic change spun him for a loop.

“Yeah, we’re all on the same page between me and you, me and your Dad, and you and your Dad. I feel like we’re even on the same paragraph,” Clay joked, hoping to make her smile.

“How much did you hear from me and Dad talking?” Emma was quiet, happy that her boyfriend, if that’s what she was going to call it, was on good terms with her father. But the real question was if Clay had heard all their talk about canoodling.

“I tried not to listen to much Em, but I did hear some of it. I’m sorry.” Clay grabbed her hand, unsure if she would be mad that he had listened into something that was clearly private. Yeah he heard the bit about canoodling and keeping it away from Jason’s sensitive eyes, but that part didn’t need to be addressed right now. More importantly, he needed to make sure that Emma didn’t feel like she was a burden in his life. “But Em, I want you to be able to share your life with me. I get why you don’t always share things with your Dad, but with me? I should be the one you trust the most.”

“I don’t want to worry you Clay,” Emma whispered, stroking along the side of his face with her other hand. The things she worried about on a day to day basis were trivial things, nothing that someone in a war zone needed to pay any mind to. And telling him those things would only distract him from his main goal, coming home safe. 

“Emma, I’m going to worry no matter what. You could tell me that you were going to lounge in bed all day long and I would worry if something was going to happen. It’s part of being in a relationship.”

“I don’t exactly have a lot of experience in that department Clay,” Emma muttered, face going red at the other implication of that statement. 

“I know Em, that’s why we talk about things before we get into situations that we both can’t handle. Communication is the only way that this is going to work. Promise me that you’ll always talk to me, even if it’s difficult or uncomfortable. I’ll never judge,” Clay implored, hoping that this was the last time that they would be having this conversation. A relationship between them would never work if they could talk to one another.

“I can do that Clay, but that also means we should talk about some other things too,” Emma started, hoping that Clay would catch her drift and that she wouldn’t have to say the words exactly. 

“I meant what I said before Em, I’m following your lead. If you want to talk about sex more we can, but I feel like we’re on the same page with that one.” Clay knew that she was trying to dance around the subject and that eventually they needed to talk more about what they liked and what they expected, but Clay didn’t have any intentions of going further than what they had done earlier. Taking things slowly when all you wanted was to speed up was difficult, but the result was always better when you took your time getting there. 

Emma’s face went red at the word, and she stammered out, “We are! And I’m glad that we’re not rushing into anything and I don’t feel like you’re going to rush me into anything -”

“That’s definitely not going to happen” Clay interrupted firmly, glad to know that Emma at least knew what their pace was going to be, glacially slow. The last thing that Clay wanted to do was make Emma uncomfortable, and going from point A to point Z was a sure fire way to make someone feel like they were out of control. “Em, if we’re going to talk about this, let's not do it in your living room where your Dad can walk in. I know that he has an idea of what’s going on here, but let’s not confirm it for the man.”

“If we go back up to my room, are we going to be able to talk about this?” Emma questioned, wondering if that was such a good idea seeing as how the last time they were alone in her bedroom, things maybe got a little steamy.

“Of course Em,” Clay grabbed her hand again, but before they could go upstairs, Jason came out of the garage and back into the house. Glancing at them, Jason grabbed his keys and threw over his shoulder, “Ray asked for me to come over, I’ll pick up dinner while I’m out.”

“Make sure you get me an egg roll Dad!” Emma called out, relieved that Clay and her could have this conversation, alone.

* * *

* * *

Hand in hand, the pair walked up the stairs together, each slightly nervous and uncomfortable with the topic that they were about to discuss. But Emma ploughed forward, not content with ‘I’ll follow your lead’. What does that even mean? Was he going to not go further than she wanted him to go ever? Did that mean she had to initiate every time they were going to kiss? Was he ever going to want something besides what they had previously done? 

Sitting across from each other on the bed with crossed legs, Clay took Emma’s hand in his. “I’m just going to come out and say it, this conversation is going to be uncomfortable. We can’t even talk about the word without blushing, so it’s safe to say that we aren’t ready for the act.” 

“Definitely not,” Emma agreed her cheeks flushed. They sat in silence for a moment, before Clay realized that he was going to have to push her to talk if they wanted to come to a conclusion.

“Do you want to ask questions about things that you want to talk about? Maybe that will be easier than trying to go into this full stop?” Clay watched the indecision play out on her face as Emma bit her lip again. Internally Clay groaned, thinking of another moment where she had bitten her lip, but maybe that was the reason they were having this conversation in the first place.

So that they could get on the same page. 

Emma could verbalize what she wanted. 

And he could get her to stop biting her lip in front of him when there was no intention of letting him show her  _ exactly _ what that made him want to do to her. 

Emma swallowed harshly and started with the obvious: “I’m assuming here, but you’ve had other relationships before this?”

Clay nodded, waiting to see where she was going to go with her current line of questioning. He had had several relationships before he met Emma, some while he was in boot camp and some before he was accepted into BUDS. But after that… well he was in a bit of a dry spell. 

“And in those relationships, I doubt that you were…” Emma struggled for the right word, not wanting to say that he had had sex with someone that wasn’t her, even though it was long before they met. The thought of Clay getting into someone else’s bed set her blood to boil and she didn’t want to dwell on it for very long. 

“I’ve had sex before Em, if that’s what you’re getting at. I’ve had one other serious relationship before this one, and it was … a while ago. In between, there have been other girls, but only for the night, but the last one was well before I joined Bravo.” Clay laid all of the facts on the table, wanting to be transparent about his dating history with the girl.

Emma put aside the fact that Clay had considered their relationship serious, they hadn’t even been officially dating for more than a month. How could it be serious? “And with those girls, you brought them home because you wanted  _ company _ ?”

“Company is a good way to put it,” Clay laughed at the analogy that Emma had created, not intending to make her feel that he was laughing at her. “It was part of the relationship that I shared with that person at the time, but it was never a casual encounter.” 

“That company, are you going to be looking for that while I can’t give it to you?” Emma wondered softly. 

_ And that there is the root of the problem _ , Clay thought to himself. Emma was still insecure about their relationship and the physical nature of his past relationships. He couldn’t really blame her for being insecure about it either. There were times when he forgot that she was so much younger than he was, especially when she was taking care of Mikey and running a household and juggling all of her other responsibilities. But in moments like these it was easy to see that she was just eighteen, not a ton of life experience under her belt. 

“Em, I’m not looking for anything besides what you’re giving me, and I don’t really agree with the sentiment that you’re ‘giving’ me anything,” Clay said firmly, trying to make his point known. “I’m not going to sit here and say that one day in the future, I won’t want to make love to you or that I don’t want to have that intimate connection with you, but it’s at your pace. I want you as  _ Emma Kate _ , not what Emma’s body can do.” Clay looked into her eyes, scanning them to see if she understood what he was saying. “Can I ask you a question, Emmie K?”

Emma nodded, slightly afraid of what he was going to ask. Not because she thought that he was going to make her do something, but if she was going to die of embarrassment. 

“All of this is new to you isn’t it? You’ve never…”

“No, this is, um, new so to speak.” Emma looked up at Clay. “I had only ever kissed someone before, so this afternoon was…”

“A lot?” Clay responded. Clay’s face grew red at the thought of his hands roaming over her as they kissed, chests heaving and hips grinding. A lot felt like the understatement of the century, it was so much more than what he could describe and they didn’t really get much further than the basics. 

“I think, going forward, we need to have some direction. I know you said that whatever I want goes here, but at this point I don’t even know what else there is to even do aside from sex, which we both agreed we’re not ready for,” Clay said, starting to make a plan in his mind. Yes, it wasn’t an OP that needed careful precision and detail oriented planning, but it made him feel better. “I know it’s not the answer that you’re looking for, but I meant when I said we would follow your lead. There’s a lot of things that we can do in between sex and where we are now. But I need to know where the line is so that we don’t go running past it,” Clay explained, trying his hardest to make her feel like he wasn’t rejecting her. 

“Clay, I don’t know where my line is yet because we haven’t done anything that’s made me uncomfortable” Emma looked earnestly at Clay. “I didn’t want to stop this afternoon Clay, and that scared me. It scared me because I had never felt like that before.”

“Felt like what, Em?” Clay asked, prodding her to answer. They were never going to be able to become intimate if they didn’t start talking about what made them feel good, what they wanted from each other. 

“I don’t know how to describe it,” Emma said, flushing all the way down to her toes. “The feeling of your lips on mine and being so close to  _ you _ , all of you,” Emma stumbled over her words, not wanting to talk about the feeling of Clay’s arousal under her hips. 

Clay took her hand, and waited for her to meet his eyes. “So if I hadn’t stopped us, if the phone hadn’t rang, would you have wanted to go further than that Em?” Clay looked at her face carefully, trying to figure out what she was thinking. 

“I’m saying that I don’t know if we would have gone further because I never thought about it before. I didn’t really think that I would be in this situation, Clay,” Emma huffed. “I always thought that whoever I’d be dating would just tell me what to do or it would just happen and I wouldn’t have to think about it,” she muttered. 

“Well,” Clay started, thinking about a scenario where  _ she _ would tell him what to do. “I don’t think that’s the way to go here, not because it’s wrong to think like that, but because I want to give  _ you _ pleasure, Em.”

Clay didn’t think it was possible, but Emma flushed even darker than before, hair falling in a curtain in front of her face. 

“I know it’s uncomfortable to talk about, but I want to do what makes you feel good, what brings you pleasure, and I can’t do that if we don’t talk about it. I can’t do that if I’m telling you what makes me feel good and not think about how you feel.”

“And I want that too, Clay. I want to make you feel good, I just don’t know how,” Emma said quietly, hoping that she wasn’t saying the wrong thing. It felt like they were both on the same page, but they hadn’t come to a conclusion yet. 

“Ok, let’s think about this logically. Do you like kissing me?” Clay said, starting from the very beginning. 

“Yes,” Emma said exasperatedly. “I like kissing you Clay.”

“Go with me here Em, we’re going to figure this out. So you like me kissing you, how did you feel about me kissing your neck?”

Emma thought about it for a moment, before responding shyly, “I liked it.” Touching her neck gently, Emma remembered how it felt when Clay scrapped his teeth gently underneath her jaw. “I like when you kiss me here, and suck on it.”

Clay swallowed, thinking about the breathy moans that came from Emma’s mouth and how he was reacting to her telling him  _ exactly _ what she liked. “And did you like when I started moving my hands when you were on my lap? Where I touched you?” Clay racked his brain to try and think about anything else that they had done that afternoon, but that was all he could remember. 

Not looking at Clay, Emma whispered “Yes.”

“There’s nothing to be ashamed of here Emmie K, you can want that, and knowing what you like is half the battle here. So for right now, is that where our line is?”

“Maybe next time, if you want there to be a next time, we could go a little further? Just baby steps Clay. I think if I don’t like something you’ll either know or I’ll tell you. Is that ok?” 

“That’s more than ok with me Em,” Clay said with a rakish smirk. “And just so you know, Emma Kate, I definitely want there to be a next time.”

Emma leaned in and kissed Clay, growing more confident with every press of their lips together. Before it could heat up even further, she pulled back, satisfied to see the blissed out look on Clay’s face.  _ Finally, I’m getting him to feel the same things I’m feeling _ , she thought to herself, brushing a piece of hair off of his forehead. “You alright over there, babe?”

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs that came from Emma kissing him, in her bed, messy hair, tiny shorts, and a shirt that bore  _ his  _ name was too much. “Nothing, you just look, I’m just, that kiss, I don’t know how to say,” stumbling over his words, Clay blushed.

“Clay what? Was that too much?” Emma was genuinely concerned that Clay was uncomfortable, and leaned over to put her hand on his knee, shifting slightly so that she was resting on her knees, butt thrust into the air, giving Clay a good look down her,  _ his _ , shirt.

“No Emmie K, it’s nothing you said or did, you’re just, I’m attracted to you honey,” Clay said. This time it was his turn to go red, a pinkish hue coming up from his neck all the way to his ears. 

“Oh,” Emma sat back on her heels, unsure of where that came from in his brain. “Even looking like this Clay? I’m not doing anything special.”

“You’re wearing my shirt, Em, in tiny shorts, and we’re talking about things that would make any man blush, even just thinking about it,” Clay laughed. “I’m attracted to you every time I see you, and Em, every time I don’t kiss you senseless is because I’m controlling myself so that I act appropriately.”

“And that’s a good thing?” Emma said, slightly confused over the way that Clay was talking about being attracted to her. 

“Yes honey, it’s a good thing, but I’m definitely taking that shirt back from you after tonight. I’ll give you any other shirt but that one”

Seeing the flustered look on his face, Emma teasingly grabbed the end of her shirt and started to raise the hem. “Well if you really insist,” she said, exposing her stomach. “We’ll just find a time for you to lose some of that control.”

Clay lunged across the bed and grabbed Emma across the waist and pulled her into his lap. “Emmie K, if you pull that shirt up, the line goes all the way to that point” Her teasing grin stayed on her face, and her eyes were twinkling with mischief. “We also do not have that kind of time for the things that’ll happen if that shirt comes off Em, especially if you want me,” he said, pulling her tightly to his chest. “To lose control.”

Seeing the lust in Clay’s eyes, Emma accepted defeat and kissed Clay softly, before going in for a second kiss, biting his bottom lips gently. Just as Clay moaned his pleasure and Emma was going to deepen the kiss even further, the front door slammed shut and Jason called up the stairs. “Emma? Clay? Chinese food is on the table!”

“Go out with me tomorrow, I know a place that you would like that has live music during dinner. That is if you think that you can take a night off from school work, the boys and I won’t get spun up so soon after two back to back.”

“I’d love to Clay,” With another gentle kiss, Emma stood up and offered her hand to Clay. Hand in hand they walked downstairs to get some dinner before Jason sent out a search party for them. The last thing they needed was for Jason to see them canoodling on her bed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok  
> SO  
> I had second hand embarrassment writing this chapter, but I hope you all enjoyed! From here on out, the story is going to be changing, so stay tuned for more.   
> As always, stay safe and stay healthy


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “More than just a mess of things Jace,” Clay exploded. “For him to just blurt things out and make Emma feel like dating me has let everyone else down is unacceptable. She deserves to be happy, I deserve to be happy.”   
> Clay’s voice broke at the end, and Jason felt his heart break along with it. They deserved to be happy together and Jason wanted that for his kids, both of them. It just felt like he was one of the few people that supported their relationship, no matter how much it hurt to watch Emma grow up. It would hurt him more to see her unhappy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> She's a monster chapter, grab a snack and buckle up, you're in for a wild ride

Emma was nervous, more nervous than she really should be. Hanging out with Clay wasn’t anything different than before, this was just the first time that they were calling it a date. Emma wasn’t even sure that she knew what to wear at this point, the only thing that she had been told was to wear something nice, and to not stress about it, which of course made her more stressed.  _ How men could say not to worry about what girls are wearing is a mystery _ , Emma thought to herself, holding a dress up to her chest.  _ Especially when we wear stuff for them to think about _ . Thinking about Clay, and more importantly his reaction to her dress, Emma started to flush. After their conversation last night, Emma started to think more and more about what she wanted with Clay, not just in the sense of her future, but what she  _ wanted _ from him. 

And she  _ wanted _ , a lot. 

Brushing her hair out, Emma spotted Clay’s truck coming down the street through her window and the pounding of her heart started to echo in her ears. Emma bounded down the stairs, passing Jason and Mikey playing video games in the living room. 

“You leaving Em?” Jason called over his shoulder, still focused on the television set where Mikey was kicking his ass.

“Yes, I’ll be back by nine. Clay and I are going out,” Emma waited for Jason to say something about her going out with him, but to her surprise, there was just a calm acceptance. 

“Ok, have fun and be safe. Tell Clay that nine o’clock means nine o’clock.”

Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, Emma practically ran out the door to Clay’s truck, her dress fluttering in the light breeze. Opening the car door, Emma was struck by how handsome Clay looked: dark jeans and a white polo shirt. Clean shaven and sparkling blue eyes, Clay was handsome. If she were with Hannah right now, she might even say that Clay looked hot.

“Hey Emmie, how’s your day going?” Clay said with a soft smile, happy to just be in the presence of the girl he loved.

“Better now Clay, better now,” Emma leaned over and placed a soft kiss on Clay’s cheek and got herself settled in the car. Clay reached over to hold Emma’s hand as they drove through town, radio playing in the background quietly.

“So where is this place that you’re taking me to?” Emma said, looking at Clay’s strong profile as he drove. The line of Clay’s jaw always made her breath catch in her throat. And when Clay shaved… all Emma could think about was kissing along his jaw.  _ Easy, Emma Kate,  _ she cautioned herself, willing her blush away.  _ You have all night.  _

“It’s a bar that I went to with a friend of mine a long time ago, before I joined Bravo. He brought me during their live music night and I think it’ll be something that you’ll like,” Clay spared a glance at Emma’s face while they waited at a red light. Neither of them spoke, and for a second Emma thought that he was going to kiss her right then and there, but the moment flew away at the sound of a horn behind them. Clay jumped and started driving again as Emma giggled, fiddling with her hair.

“Just you wait Emmie K, if we weren’t driving right now…” Clay trailed off, giving her hand an extra squeeze. 

“Sure,” Emma drawled, teasing Clay. 

Pulling up to the restaurant, Emma felt the butterflies swirl in her belly again, on their first date of many to come. Walking through the doors, hand in hand, Emma had never been happier. There were people dancing, someone on stage singing, and plenty of happy faces wherever she looked. 

Best of all, there was no one that she knew. No one that had any expectations of how she was supposed to act or to judge her if she wanted to kiss her boyfriend.

It was her and Clay, no one else.

“You like it?” Clay teased, seeing the wide smile come across Emma’s face.

“I love it!” Emma whispered, taking everything in before wandering further into the restaurant. Taking a seat at one of the tables, Clay and Emma both glanced away from each other before meeting each other’s eyes, before laughing awkwardly.

“This is silly Emmie, it’s just us,” Clay took her hand. 

“You’re right we are being silly, I’m just glad we finally got to spend some time together. I feel like the last week has been crazy.”

The last week that they had been on base, Clay and the boys had gone through the mandatory training sessions that the big wigs had designed up for them, not leaving Clay and Emma much time to spend together, not that that was any different from how they had spent time together in the past. Then they had both gotten sick and told their family that they were together and it was just a very long, no good week for both of them. 

Aside from the fact that they were together and happier than ever. 

That part was really, really good. 

“You’re definitely right about that one, Em. This week kicked my ass.” Clay took a sip of his water and smiled across the table at Emma, who was looking around at the other patrons in the bar. “Em, you ever think about singing on stage like that?”

“All the time Clay, it used to be one of my favorite things to do. But I don’t know if I can do it anymore, I didn’t enjoy the recital a few weeks ago without mom” Emma said softly, not wanting to admit that she sang more for her own pleasure than for other people to enjoy after her mother had passed away. It was different when she sang along to the radio or as she was cooking dinner or when she found a new arrangement she liked. Performing was something she found joy in with her mother, and without her… it felt empty. 

“I think you’d be great at it if you wanted to sing for a living,” Clay stated emphatically. “And your mom would want you to do the things that you love.” The more that Clay got to know this charming girl, the more he realized that the strong persona that the girl put off wasn’t as bulletproof as she would like others to believe. 

“Thanks Clay,” Emma blushed prettily, happy that he believed in her. The future was still very much up in the air as Emma wasn’t quite sure where college was going to take her or even what she wanted to study. All she knew was that it would have to be local, no matter how much she loved NYU. She couldn’t leave Mikey, or Clay for that matter. “I might get there again one day, but for now I think other options need to be considered.”

“You’re right, but none of that has to be decided tonight. Let’s just enjoy the night,” Clay said, rubbing his thumb over her hand. 

“I always have fun when I spend time with you Clay,” Emma said gently, not thinking about the hidden innuendo behind her statement. Clay gulped, and Emma’s eyes widened, but before she could stutter out an explanation, Clay cut her off. 

“Let’s dance Emmie K, it’s the best part of this place.” Clay took her hand and placed a few bills on the table to cover the drinks that they had had. Wrapping his arms around Emma, they swayed together gently to the soft love song that was being sung. Emma rested her head against his chest, listening to his heart beat pound underneath her ears. Clay kissed the top of her head and Emma smiled. This was the best possible way to spend her night, wrapped in her boyfriend’s arms, smelling the spicy scent of his cologne, and dancing to some good music. 

Sooner than either one wanted, the song ended and the singer took a break. Clay looked over at Emma and then back down to his watch, the night was going to have to come to an end sooner than he would want, and he still wanted to spend some time with his girl away from people, even if they didn’t know anyone there. Grabbing her hand, Clay led her back out to his truck and opened the car door for her. Hearing her small giggles, Clay knew that he would do anything in the world to hear them one more time and that they would likely feature in his dreams.  _ Along with certain other noises she makes,  _ Clay thought to himself, adjusting his pants discreetly before he got into the car.  _ Behave, Spenser,  _ he thought to himself, grabbing Emma’s hand in his as he drove. 

“Clay where are we going?” Emma trusted that Clay had a place in mind for them, but was still anxious to know exactly what those plans were going to be, especially since it was getting late. 

“We’re going to the beach, there’s a spot I want to show you.” Clay continued driving the short distance from the bar to the beach, smiling as Emma sang along to the radio. Parking the car, Clay got out and pulled a blanket from the bed of his truck and offered his hand to Emma before walking up the dunes. Setting the blanket down, Clay sat behind Emma and wrapped his arms around her waist, feeling at peace with the waves crashing on the shoreline and the blonde nestled underneath his chin. Clay felt Emma move and before he knew it, Emma was kissing him softly. 

Their lips met again and again, brushing softly against each other. Emma felt the strong support of his chest against her back and brought her hand up to cradle his jaw before brushing her tongue against his lips. Clay broke the kiss with a whimper, breathing heavily. 

Resting his head against hers, Clay tried to catch his breath. “Well that was unexpected,” Clay said, tracing the curve of her cheek with his thumb. “But definitely not unappreciated.”

“I couldn’t resist,” Emma joked, before reaching up to ruffle his hair. Standing up, Emma kicked off her sandals and started walking to where the waves were cresting. Not sensing Clay following her, she looked back at where they had placed the blanket to see him still sitting there with a goofy grin. “Come on slow poke!”

Before she could even take a step into the water, Clay scooped her around the waist and spun her around, his deep laughter combined with Emma’s light giggle floated through the salty breeze. Looking down at the girl in his arms, Clay leaned down and kissed her, pressing her small body against his as the water ebbed and flowed around their feet. Emma’s dress fluttered in the breeze and she felt Clay put his arm around her waist and pressed her close. Before they could deepen the kiss further, Clay’s phone rang. 

“I guess that’s our cue huh?” Emma said ruefully, thinking that Clay was getting spun up.

“Not quite Em, I just set an alarm so I wasn’t late getting you back. I don’t want to give your dad any reason to make me run hills.” As they began to pack up their things, Emma took the blanket and wrapped it around her arms, slightly chilled from her walk along the water. Pulling up to her driveway, Emma looked at all of the cars parked in the driveway and groaned.

“What’s the matter Em?” Clay looked over at Emma’s face, watched as it grew red.

“I forgot that tonight was supposed to be movie night with the guys, I didn’t realize that everyone was going to be here, normally it’s at Uncle Ray’s. I know that they’re going to make jokes and it’s not that I’m embarrassed of going out or that I don’t want them to know or anything, I just don’t want them making assumptions about anything we did or didn’t do and Uncle Sonny has a tendency to do that and - ” Emma rambled, panicking more and more at the thought of walking into her own home. 

“If anybody says anything, I’ll handle it Em. They all know we’re going out, nothing more should be said about it. And I know you’re not sweetheart, you’re like me. These things aren’t for anyone else to know but us.”

Walking up the driveway, Clay kissed Em on the cheek and was startled by the porch light coming on suddenly and the door being yanked open to see Sonny standing there with a beer in one hand and a noise maker in the other, ready to go off and embarrass them if Sonny had caught them in a compromising position.“Well, look at this, Romeo walked Juliet to her door. What a gentleman,” Sonny cackled, not seeing the way that Emma’s face flushed. 

“Yeah, Son, I walked her to the door. Gonna let us in?” Clay retorted, grabbing Emma’s waist and pushing their way through the front door. Clay tried not to let his annoyance bleed through his tone, but really? A fucking noise maker?

“Be my guest,” Sonny grumbled, shutting the door. “Good for Prince Charming over there, he brought Cinderella back to the castle before curfew.”

“Don’t start, Son,” Clay warned, keeping an eye on Emma. The confidence that she had exuded when it was just the two of them was long gone, and left behind was a shell of the woman he loved. 

And it pissed him the fuck off. 

“I’m not startin’ anything,” Sonny claimed, false innocence all of his face, hidden behind a poorly concealed grin. “You’re just lucky Sunshine over there didn’t turn into a pumpkin.”

“I’m gonna go change,” Emma said quickly, coming between Clay and Sonny, trying to defuse the situation. “What movie are we watching?”

“We’re watching  _ Remember the Titans, _ ” Brock piped up, shooting Sonny an angry glance. “It’s Ray’s turn this month.”

“Great, save me some popcorn,” Emma said, practically sprinting up the stairs, eyes downcast to avoid letting anyone see the tears welling up. 

Clay watched as Emma stalked past him, letting her take some time to collect herself as the boys spread out to get comfortable for their movie. He was sure that Davis would have something to say to the girl that he couldn’t pretend to understand and it would smooth over. Now he just had to handle Sonny and his big ass mouth. 

Clay pushed Sonny against the wall and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. “What do you think you’re doing Son?” The boys hearing the commotion, ran to the door and watched Clay whisper yell at Sonny.

“Hey now, brother, what’s going on?” Ray, ever the peacemaker, tried to settle everyone, unsure of what was going on. Clay had appeared calm, annoyed, and was now flying off the handle in a way that Ray had never seen before, not even in the field. 

“Sonny doesn’t know when to leave things well enough alone, thinks that he can just tease Em whenever he feels like it. Doesn’t take into account how she might feel because he wants to shoot shit with me, wants to see me squirm.”

“I was just making a joke, Sunshine knows that I don’t mean nothin’ by it,” Sonny protested, not quite understanding why everyone was getting all uptight by some harmless ribbing.

“Ever think that maybe she doesn’t like that? It’s one thing to joke with us Sonny, Emma has never been the butt of one of your jokes before,” Trent tried to explain delicately, not wanting to anger the man any more than he already was. “Especially with such a sensitive topic.”

“Or the fact that maybe, just maybe, this is something that she’d like to keep to herself,” Clay stated, letting go of Sonny’s collar. Sighing to himself, Clay ran his hands through his hair, unsure of where to go from here. “You have to realize Son, that she is not ok right now. Jay and I are trying to help her through it, but after losing Alana… she’s hurting.” At his words, the boys all looked down, each still silently struggling with the hole that Alana left in their lives. 

“It was a joke. We talk about each other’s girlfriends like that all the damn time. I’m not tryin’ to treat this any different than if she was some champagne room little lady that you found for yourself. If she can’t handle a little ribbing, then she can’t handle being a Navy girlfriend and it will never work out between the two of ya and I know for damn sure that that girl right there is not the same Sunshine that I’ve known since she was that high,” Sonny protested, not hearing Emma walk up behind him

“And if that’s what you think of me, I don’t want to be a Navy girlfriend, and I’m sure as hell not a ‘champagne’ lady and don’t deserve to be talked to like that, ” Emma said quietly, not meeting Clay’s eyes. 

“Em,” Clay said, struggling to find the words to say to her and what he  _ could _ say to her in front of her entire family. How could he reassure her of their relationship when the very mention of that relationship made everyone else uncomfortable?

“I’ll be upstairs, I don’t really feel that well,” Emma said quietly, padding back up the stairs.

“You’re a fucking asshole,” Trent spat, rubbing his hand down his jaw. “Really, there are times when I don’t think it’s possible for you to fuck up more than you already have and you go and prove me wrong.”

“Let’s not pretend that you’re a-okay with this either,” Sonny growled.

“I at least have the decency to let them make their own decisions!”

The sound of six phones ringing at once broke the tense silence and all Clay could think about was how he really didn’t want to leave Emma. Not when things were so up in the air. How could he leave to a hellhole when he wasn’t sure that things were solid back at home. 

“Listen, I don’t give a shit about what your problem is tonight, but this is it, don’t fucking talk about my relationship, not to me, not to Jason, not even to fucking Chastity. If you just ruined the best thing that I have in my life … that’s it, I’m done,” Clay said, bounding up the stairs after Emma. 

Sonny stared at Clay’s back, not sure how serious Clay was about being ‘done’. That was a big statement that carried a lot of weight and now that they had to spin up together, it wasn’t going to be an easy OP, that was for damn sure. 

“I think it’s time for you guys to head to base, Clay and I will meet you there,” Jason said from the doorway. It wasn’t his place to get in between Clay and Sonny, and while he’d never admit to it out loud, he was proud of how well Clay put Sonny in his place.

“You got it, let’s go guys,” Ray said, ushering everyone out the door. Ray sent Jason a look as the front door swung shut and Jason shook his head. This wasn’t going to be a fun one. 

* * *

* * *

Clay hesitated in front of the closed door to Emma’s bedroom. Her words were ringing through his head and he couldn’t really blame her for being upset at how Sonny was treating her. To Emma, Sonny was one of the few people that had known her since she was a small child. She grew up calling him ‘Uncle Sonny’ and idolized the ground he walked on. And now he was implying that she wasn’t  _ enough _ for whatever Clay needed and it had to sting that he didn’t believe in her. 

Clay knocked on the door and opened it after a few seconds to find Emma pacing back and forth, cheeks red with anger. 

“Em…”

“Clay, I’m sorry!” 

“What? Why are you sorry?” Clay said sitting at her desk. He fully expected to have to apologize for Sonny’s behavior and do some groveling. Even though it wasn’t his fault that Sonny was being an ass, it was his job that made their relationship difficult, his place on her father’s team. 

“I didn’t mean what I said, I know it’s isn’t going to be easy when you have to deploy and that I’m going to have to grow a thicker skin when dealing with people and their comments and I’m sorry that I flew off the handle but -”

“Emma,” Clay siad, trying to get a word in, standing in front of her to stop her frantic pacing. Wrapping his arms around her, Clay felt her relax in his arms and felt the vice around his heart relax just a bit. 

“He just got under my skin,” Emma mumbled into his chest, willing the tears to not fall. “I want to be with you more than anything I’ve ever wanted before in my life. I promise you that.

“I know, I’ve never doubted that. I’m sorry too Emmie K, no one deserves to be treated like this.”

“He’s my Uncle Sonny,” Emma said with a wet chuck, “and I feel like all I’ve done is let him down and made him doubt my place in all of your lives, including his and that I’ve gone and made things harder for you at work.”

“I don’t want you to doubt your place in my life, as for Sonny… he’ll come around. And if he doesn’t, it’s his loss Em.”

“You think he’ll come around?”

“I know he will, once he sees how happy you are when we’re together. That’s all they want for you, for us. They want us to be happy.”

Emma stood in his embrace, content to let him hold her as long as he wanted but could tell that Clay was getting shifty. “What’s wrong?”

“We’re all getting spun up,” Clay said, brushing his thumb against her cheek.

“That’s not going to be fun,” Emma blurted out without thinking, taking a step back. 

Clay chuckled, “No, it’s not going to be. It’s actually going to be pretty freaking miserable, but Sonny did that to himself. I’m not going to go out of my way to make him feel better right now.”

Emma hesitated for a moment. “Just… make sure that you come home safe to me. I don’t care that you and Uncle Sonny are the outs right now, but please don’t let that be the reason that you get injured. I want you all home in one piece, even if Uncle Sonny is being an asshat.”

“I’ll make sure of it,” Jason said from the doorway. “Come on Kid, time for us to go. Plane won’t wait for long.”

“Be safe, both of you.”

Clay kissed Emma on the cheek and followed Jason back down the stairs. The sound of the door slamming echoed in their wake and Emma was left in the silence again with only Sonny’s words ringing through her head. 

* * *

* * *

“You ever gonna talk to me Kid?” 

The air inside his truck was stifling, and Jason couldn’t help but feel like he was driving one of his kids home after they screwed up somehow or they were fighting. 

“I don’t really know what there is to talk about. You were there Jason.”

Clearly Clay wasn’t in the talking mood, but there were things that needed to be said even if he didn’t want to discuss it at that moment. It needed to be said before he became Bravo One. “Alright then, I’ll start. Thank you, for standing up for Emma.”

“I wasn’t just going to let them, well Sonny really, imply anything about her or our relationship. I thought that I had made that clear from the beginning Jason.”

“I know that, and you lived up to your word. Thank you.”

“Sonny pissed me the fuck off today, Jace. He upset Emma, made her unsure of her place in all of our lives and made it ten times harder for me to leave.”

Jason didn’t really know what to say to that, it was always hard to leave your family. But hearing that one of the men he called a brother caused his flesh and blood harm, how could he pick a family to stand behind? “He made a mess of things, that’s for sure.”

“More than just a mess of things Jace,” Clay exploded. “For him to just blurt things out and make Emma feel like dating me has let everyone else down is unacceptable. She deserves to be happy,  _ I  _ deserve to be happy.” 

Clay’s voice broke at the end, and Jason felt his heart break along with it. They deserved to be happy together and Jason wanted that for his kids, both of them. It just felt like he was one of the few people that supported their relationship, no matter how much it hurt to watch Emma grow up. It would hurt him more to see her unhappy. 

“You do, and if she makes you happy and you make her happy, that’s all I want. I know it’s going to take the others a little bit more time,” Clay scoffed, interrupting Jason who was quickly losing his patience. “But I need to know that you and Sonny can do this OP without killing each other or someone else.”

“Outside of what we need to do for the OP, I can’t speak with him. Not without wanting to punch his fucking teeth in. But I’ll do what needs to be done, until we can all come to an agreement. Don’t stick the two of us alone together, don’t try and force it.”

Jason lets his words run through his brain for a bit, thinking of how it could change their dynamic when they’re in the field. Clay will be the professional operator and Sonny will learn to stay quiet, but after that? Who the hell knows if they’re going to be able to be brothers again. 

“I mean it, Jason. I’m asking you as a friend, let this OP finish and we’ll work it out at the end. If I have to focus on it, someone is going to get hurt and not because we’re fighting, because we’re distracted.”

“Ok,” Jason said simply, pulling into his parking spot. “We’ll spin up, get the job done, and then put this issue to bed once and for fucking all.”

Clay nodded, slipping into Bravo Six mode. He’d been quiet for a lot longer than the few days this OP would take, he could do it again. 

For Emma, he’d figure out how to make anything work. 

* * *

* * *

Emma opened her phone, scrolling aimlessly as dinner cooked on the stove. She was getting much better at cooking dinner for her and Mikey when Jason was spun up, but the same meals were getting boring. Thankfully Naima was more than happy to help her out with new recipes and lessons when she was unsure. 

When the phone rang, she almost dropped it into the pot of bubbling pasta sauce in her haste to answer. “Clay!”

“Hey Em.”

The picture was grainy, and every few seconds Clay’s image pixelated, but he was there and just hearing his voice made Emma’s heart soar. “I’m so glad to hear from you! How are things?”

There was a pause, and for a second Emma thought that the screen had just frozen, but when Clay moved to run his hand down the stubble that had grown, she grew nervous. “Clay?”

“Things aren’t great, we’re snapping, things aren’t meshing, honestly Em, it’s a mess.”

Emma paused, not wanting to say what was on her mind, but still wanting to be honest with Clay. “Are you guys still fighting over what happened on Friday?” There was no way that they had managed to spin up and talk about what had happened and stay focused on the OP. There wasn’t anything else that she could think that they were fighting about collectively. 

Unless there was more that Clay wasn’t telling her. 

Of course, he couldn’t tell her everything that went on in his life. And she accepted that there would always be things that she would have to be content in not knowing. But knowing that fact of dating a team guy and actually  _ doing _ it were too different things. 

“We haven’t had the time to talk about it the way we need to,” Clay said. “I told your dad that when we spun up, that I couldn’t talk to Sonny without wanting to punch his fucking lights in, and even when I see him, all I want to do is throttle him.”

Emma was quiet. “I don’t want to come between the two of you.”

“You’re not Em, you’re part of my life and he needs to accept that. If he was really my brother, this wouldn’t even be a question. I won’t let anyone treat you like that, treat you like you’re not good enough.

“How do you know that that was his intention if you don’t hash it out?”

Clay blew out his breath. “I don’t, I’m just hurt, Em. He  _ promised _ me, that this wouldn’t be a problem. That he wouldn’t make it a big deal or cause problems. And then the next time he saw us together, he does exactly that.”

“He hurt you, Clay, and it’s ok to let him know that he hurt you.”

“Emmie K, what good will that do? He knows that he hurt me, he could see it all over my face and I don’t think I’ve been very subtle.”

Emma struggled with how she wanted to phrase her next sentence. Clay had told her in confidence all of the trials and tribulations that he had gone through as a small child, and right now those fears were rearing their ugly heads. Emma would never mention it to Clay, but the thought of his father made her blood boil. How anyone could treat their own flesh and blood as something not even worth the scum on their shoes was beyond her and it left lasting marks on the man she loved. “Even if he knows that he hurt you, Clay, it’s an opportunity for you to confront him and make him understand that hurting  _ you _ , forget about me right now, isn’t ok.”

“How would I even, I don’t even know where to start.”

“Sometimes, when I would fight with mom or with Hannah, I’d have to come up with things that I needed to say, and then whatever else came out was fine because I got my point across. As long as he gets the point, you’ll have communicated effectively and you can come to an agreement. You just have to start somewhere.”

“I don’t know what I did to deserve you, Em.”

Emma chuckled, holding the phone and stirring the pasta sauce at the same time. “Ditto babe. I’m sorry you’re having such a rough go of it.”

“It’s ok, some are better than others. We should be coming home in a day or so, any chance a certain person would be free either tomorrow night or the next? Clay said with a smirk, laughing as he saw Emma turn as red as the sauce.

“I think that can be arranged,” she said with a laugh, startling when the door slammed shut. “That’s Mikey, I better go so we can eat before his game tonight. I’ll see you soon, Clay.”

“You will,” Clay reassured her, blowing a kiss towards the phone before he hung up. 

Emma took a steadying breath, before serving herself and Mikey a portion. “Alright Mikey, let’s eat, big game tonight!” She only wished that she felt half as hopeful about Clay hashing things out with her family as she did about Mikey’s game. 

Things would be a lot simpler if they could be handled with a red card from the ref. 

* * *

* * *

Jason had let things go for as long as he could. They signed the papers, took out the target, and now on the plane home they all had a collective moment where they could breathe. Perfect time to talk about why his men were behaving like a bunch of teenage girls who all liked the same boy. “Alright, everyone gather round.” Jason met Blackburn’s eyes and subtly shook his head. This was a Bravo problem, not one where they needed their commanding officer to intervene. “We’ve got a problem here, and I don’t care what you all have planned for tonight, we’re not leaving this bird until we figure it out.”

“I don’t really know what there is to figure out,” Clay muttered, standing as far apart from everyone as he could manage. “We know how Sonny feels, we know how I feel, and we know that I’m not going to end my relationship with Emma just because it makes him uncomfortable.”

“Now I know that there are a great many things that I have said in my life, especially when it concerns women, but never have I ever said that your relationship makes me uncomfortable,” Sonny pointed out, wagging his toothpick through the air. “The thought of you and Sunshine  _ together _ , makes me want to vomit, not your relationship.”

“How the fuck can you make that distinction! And that sure as hell wasn’t what you were saying, in front of Emma, I might add.”

“I can decide that a’cause it’s the same damn decision that Jason’s making, the same one that we’re all fucking making. I don’t want to think about you being in bed, being the ‘team guy’ with my niece!”

“And when the hell are you going to realize that she’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions. The decisions that  _ Jason  _ lets her make!”

Jason let out a loud whistle, waiting for Sonny and Clay to step away from one another. “So clearly, you both have more to say and more that we don’t understand.”

Clay shook his head and paced towards Ray, not wanting to get into the entire reasoning behind his anger and frustration. It wasn’t relevant right now, “Listen, I’m going to make this really simple.I don’t want to hear you’re fucking sorry or why you did it or really anything, just stop being an asshole. If you have to make a comment just don’t make it in front of Emma, that’s all I ask. I personally don’t care if you’re ok with me dating Emma, but she does and because she does, I care about it. Don’t fuck it up,” Clay warned wearily.

“Brother, why do you only care that he’s not saying this stuff in front of Emma? Don’t you want him to be ok with your relationship?” Ray questioned, interrupting the tense stare off between Clay and Sonny.

“Not really. Nothing will change if he doesn’t accept it, Ray. I’ll still go out with Emma and if this is how we have to operate going forward, so be it. I told you all weeks ago, I’m not going to stand for any of you disrespecting her. Not now, not ever.”

“And for the last time, I don’t have a problem with you dating her! I was trying to treat it just like any other little lady and somehow the two a’you got madder than wet hens! If anything, I should be the one questioning  _ you _ , but instead I’m about as useless as a screen door on a submarine right now.”

“He’s mad, and so am I, because we told all of you that Emma isn’t doing well right now, that she’s struggling, and somehow you managed to get right down to the root of all of those insecurities in one sentence,” Jason explained, trying to simplify his family dynamics.

Clay decided to be more blunt, since they clearly weren’t understanding them beating around the bush. “She’s not sleeping, hardly eating, focused entirely on taking care of Mikey, hasn’t applied to any schools yet, and doesn’t want to appear weak in front of anyone, including all of you.”

Silence rang throughout the plane. No one knew quite what to say. 

“Jason, is what Clay said true? Is Emma really having a rough go of it?” Brock asked, sure that the confident young woman that they knew wasn’t as broken as Clay was making it seem.

“Yeah, she is Brock. She’s hurting and I don’t know how to help her. She wants me to keep operating but doesn’t want to tell me when things are bothering her. Tries to take care of Mikey and do it without Naima or my mom. I don’t think she’s even taking a music course anymore. I don’t know what to do.” Jason started pacing, trying to plan out anything that would help Emma to regain some of the confidence that she had lost with Alana passing. Mikey wasn’t having the same problems that Emma was having, his was more of the fact that he missed someone constant in his life, which Emma filled. Jason was actually surprised that he was sleeping through everything, the kid was more like him than he thought. 

“I think we need to be here, when we can. We have a few weeks off of OPs this month while the new Green Team comes through. Anytime we’re free, we’re here with Em and Mikey.” Ray reasoned, thinking about subtle ways they could offer their assistance without overwhelming the girl or making it obvious that they were hovering. Looking at Sonny, Ray pointedly said, “That also includes laying off of Clay and Emma going out Son, let the girl take the support that she needs.”

Sonny seemed to have sobered up,realizing that this conversation was far from what he had originally anticipated happening. It was far more than just Emma being embarrassed about growing up. It was her struggling to grow up and adapt to the largest curveball that she had ever faced and Sonny would be damned if he was going to let her go through it alone. “Ray, I hear you loud and clear. No more messing with Sunshine and Rainbow. Jace, you’re gonna have to kick me out with how much I’m going to be here.”

Jason was silent. Right now, these words were just that, words. Sonny had yet to prove that he would actually follow through on any of the things that he was saying.

“That’s all well and good, Son, but I need to be there for her in whatever way she needs and I can’t give a damn if that makes you uncomfortable. I need to know that this is the very last time that we’re putting this issue to bed.”

“I promise you Clay, you’re not gonna hear a peep out’a me. Not unless you ask for it.”

“Good, I’m going to sleep, wake me up when we get there.” Clay ambled back to his hammock, not meeting anyone’s eyes. That whole conversation hit far too close to home for him and he didn’t want the guys to see any more cracks in his armor. He had had more than enough of talking for one night. 

“Clay, Emma knows that you’re picking her up when we get home right?” Jason questioned, not bothering to lower his volume. Only way to get the guys used to things happening was to make them aware of it, best to start now. 

“I told her last night,” Clay yelled back, eyes already fluttering shut. Hopefully the next time he woke it would be time to see Emma and hold her close. 

He needed that more than words could say right now. 

* * *

* * *

Clay idled in front of Emma’s front porch, waiting for her to come outside. They had landed earlier that morning and all he could think about while he was putting his gear away and signing the rest of the papers was getting to her, holding her in his arms. She was what he thought of when the nights were long and he was frustrated, and boy, was he  _ frustrated,  _ in more ways than one. 

Emma came jogging out the door and Clay felt his tongue stick to the roof of his mouth at the sight of her, she was breathtaking and wasn’t even trying.  _ How the fuck did I get so lucky?  _ he thought to himself, “Hi Clay,” she sang, throwing her arms around his neck and standing on her tiptoes, hugging him tightly. 

“Hey Emmie K,” Clay said into her hair, chuckling lightly. He would never get over how excited she was to see him after they had been apart for a few days. Eventually Emma rested back on her feet but her arms were still wrapped around him. Clay indulged himself for a few minutes, letting the warm scent of her waft around him and selfishly pressing himself into her embrace. 

“I’ve missed you.”

“I did too, Emmie K, but we can’t stay here forever,” Clay reminded her, brushing her hair away from her eyes. “Are you ready to go?”

Emma’s eyes lit up and she nodded. “Where are we going?”

Clay shrugged, opening the car door for Emma. “I don’t know, I figured we drive around for a bit, maybe get something to eat. I didn’t really have any set plans other than you and me together.”

“Watch the sunset with me?” Emma blurted out.

“Sure Em, the beach ok with you?”

“Have you been to Overlook Cliff?”

Clay nodded, gulping. He had been there before with the guys after a long hike and when he asked about what they were, Sonny just laughed his tiny little head. Apparently for the younger crowd it was a popular spot late at night. Given that it was early in the evening, it wouldn’t be too crowded, which could either work for them or against them depending on how you looked at it. “Yeah, should be a good spot. I think I have a few towels in the back if you wanted to watch it in the back?”

“Sure thing!” Emma said, fiddling with the knobs on the radio. Clay just shook his head and grinned. There were many times when he found himself amazed at how innocent Emma had remained while the rest of her world was crashing and burning around her. She casually asked him to drive them to a makeout spot without even blinking, not because she wanted to make out with him. 

Well, at least he hoped that she wanted to makeout with him.

But her real intention was finding a spot where they would have a good view of the sun setting.

“So, Miss Emma Kate,” Clay said, drawing out her name. “Tell me what’s been going on at the homefront?”

Emma laughed, throwing her head back. “The homefront’s been fine so far. Been doing a lot of thinking about what I want for next year and the decisions I have to make.”

Clay nodded. “Anything you want to share with the class?”

“I’m going to stay closer to home, I haven’t decided yet where, or what I want to study, but I can’t leave, Clay.”

Clay took his time thinking about his response. Of course he wanted to keep her close to him, but he also wanted her to follow her dreams. He had already discovered his, there was no reason that she couldn’t go after hers. Clay parked, turning to look at her. “If that’s what you really want, Em, I’ll support you. But I don’t want you to settle just because of me.”

“I’m not, there’s still so much to figure out Clay, but it’s not because of you. It’s for me, for my family, and for you. I can’t leave when my whole word is in this town.” Emma said, tears sparkling in her eyes. 

“You’re incredible. You don’t have to figure it out all by yourself, I’m right here with you,” Clay said, leaning across the console to kiss her. “But we definitely don’t have to figure this out tonight and I do believe we have a sunset to watch.”

Emma giggled, and climbed over the console, not bothering with getting out and then back into the car. Clay stared at her, trying to think of something coherent to say with the sight of her climbing around in leggings so soft he could practically see the line of her underwear through them in the dim afternoon light. 

“Hey slow poke!” Emma said laughing as she adjusted the blankets around her. “You coming?”

“Yes Ms. Impatient Lady,” Clay teased, climbing after her in the back seat. “So sorry if my giant legs need a little more maneuvering than your little ones.” Settling next to her, Clay rearranged them so she was half sitting on his lap and the blankets were tucked in around them. It wasn’t particularly cold outside, but Clay wanted the excuse to cuddle up next to her. 

They sat in silence for a bit, neither of them really feeling the need to speak but Clay could tell that Emma was sneaking peeks, but wasn’t saying anything. 

“You alright over there?”

“Hmm?” Emma said, distracted. “Yeah, I’m fine Clay.”

Clay wasn’t going to let that go, she was clearly distracted. “Emma,” he dragged out. “What is it?”

“Nothing! I swear!” Emma began to flush red and now Clay  _ really  _ wasn’t going to let it go. Emma just didn’t turn red for nothing. 

“Oh I think it’s something,” he teased.

“Clay,” Emma groaned, tucking her face against his chest.

Clay waited patiently for her to lift her head to look at him. “I don’t want to make you embarrassed Em, but whatever it is, whatever you’re thinking about it, I want to know so that we can share in it together.”

“I like you, like it  _ when  _ you, shave,” Emma whispered, reaching up with one hand to trace the slight stubble that had formed on his jaw. “It’s sexy.”

Clay took a deep breath. “Sexy huh?”

Emma dropped her head back to his shoulder, unable to meet his gaze. “Yes, I think it’s sexy, and I like it when you’ve shaved. That’s what I was thinking about.” Emma raised her eyes to his again, and felt herself flush at the look of desire on his face. Gathering up her courage, she trailed one finger along the side of his jaw, looking into his eyes as her finger made it way under his ear and back down to his shoulder. “I like that your skin is soft, and that it doesn’t tickle when you kiss me and that I can see more of your face, your expression. 

Clay breathed in and out, controlling his reaction to her light teasing. Emma leaned into his chest from her position next to him, and all Clay wanted was for her to be in his arms. They were too far apart for Clay to kiss her the way she deserved, and well that just wouldn’t do. Leaning down, Clay let his lips just hover above hers as his arms wrapped around her waist. 

Emma closed her eyes and closed the gap between them, throwing one leg over his lap. Emma pushed herself as close to Clay as she could manage with the blankets between them. The kiss they shared was like the ones previous, soft and warm and tingling, but there was the undercurrent of  _ need _ that wasn’t there before. 

And boy, did Clay feel that need. Kissing Emma featured heavily in most of his dreams and he was sure that this would replay for many more nights to come. Opening his mouth, he let his tongue brush against hers softly. Emma gasped through their kiss and Clay felt himself grow harder at the sound. 

Her moans and groans always drove him to distraction, but hearing it in the enclosed space of his truck somehow made it more intimate. Drawing back to breathe, Clay let his head rest against hers, hands running up and down her back over the thin cotton of her t-shirt. While he was catching his breath, Emma kissed his cheek, his chin, behind his ear, anywhere she could reach. 

“See? So much easier when there isn’t hair in the way,” She whispered, sucking lightly. The further down she moved on his neck, the louder his whimpers became.

“Babe,” Clay moaned, intentionally keeping his hips still to try and hide most of his erection from her. 

Emma just smiled against his neck. It wasn’t often that she felt like they were on even playing ground and she didn’t feel like stopping just yet. Not when she was finally getting a chance to make him feel good. “Do you like it when I kiss you here?” she asked, moving her way across his throat. 

Clay nodded, whimpering, and she sucked a little, rasping her teeth gently. 

“What about here?” she asked again, daring to bite a little harder at his Adam’s apple. 

Clay couldn’t help it, he ground against her, bucking his hips into her as he panted for breath. “Yeah,” he moaned, head thrown back against the seat of the car. 

“What? What’d I do?” Emma said, panicking, hands roaming on his chest while she waited for him to answer her. 

“Babe,” Clay said, kissing her softly. “I liked that, you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“What?” Emma said, the haze of lust clearing from her brain.

“I liked that, when you kissed and bit me just there,” he said, bringing her hand up to trace the slightly red spot. “Just like there are spots that you like when I kiss you, I have similar ones and you found one.”

“It made you feel good?” Emma asked, leaning into him again, her chest pressing against his. 

“Yeah,” he said, voice dropping a bit lower as his hand caressed her side. “It made me feel good.”

Emma bit her lip and surged forward again, kissing him harder and wetter than before. She had made him feel good.  _ She _ did that. “What else makes you feel good?”

“It’s cheating if I tell you, Em,” he teased, nuzzling her neck. “You found a spot that makes me feel good, will you let me find one of yours?”

Emma nodded, moving her hands to rest low on his stomach, focusing on the dizzying feeling of their kisses. Clay’s arms wrapped tighter around her waist, bringing her even closer, but it wasn’t enough for Emma. She wanted more. 

Reaching between them, Emma started to pull the hem of her shirt, not wanting to break their kiss but also wanting something that she couldn’t describe. The thought of Clay seeing her in her bra didn’t freak her out anymore. Instead it made her hungry and the sensation low in her belly flare again. Emma managed to get it half way up her chest before Clay noticed his hands were hitting bare skin.

“Emma,” he said, groaning. “What are you doing?”

“I want more, Clay. Touch me,” Emma said, looking into his eyes, hoping that he wouldn’t see how nervous she was at taking the next step.

“We can’t Em, it’s too fast,” Clay groaned, running his thumb across her hip bone.

“I want you to, Clay, my pace, remember?” Emma said, reaching for his hand to drag it up to her bra covered breasts. 

“And we’re gonna do that, but Em, right now,” Clay said, brushing her hair away from her face. “I want to show you all the things that you can do, before we get carried away. All the ways you can feel good without having anything come off. Your pace, Em, but there’s still so much I want to show you before we get to that point.”

Clay smoothed her shirt back over her breasts, leaving his hands on the bare skin of her abdomen. “I want that too, Em. I want to show you what it feels like to be touched there and what it would feel like when my mouth is on you, but let’s not rush ahead.”

“You’ve touched me there before,” Emma whined, wriggling on his lap, hands tanging in his hair. 

“And I’ll touch you there again,” Clay growled, kissing the spot behind her ear that made her want to melt. “But first, I want to kiss you some more, is that ok?”

Emma nodded, kissing him with a fervor that surprised both of them.  _ Huh _ , Clay thought to himself,  _ maybe she likes the talking? _ It was always a fine line to play with, especially not knowing what Emma was comfortable with and what she wasn’t, but Clay wasn’t afraid to let that side of him show, at least, not when they were alone. 

Emma broke the kiss, breathing heavily. “Clay,” she whispered, moving her hips, searching for something to ease the ache she was feeling. Even without him touching her where she wanted him to, the sensation that his hands on her stomach were causing made her brain spin. 

Clay moved down her neck, taking the time to bite at her ear while his hand moved under her shirt, first tracing the strap of her bra, then grazing the underside of the wire, never touching her where she wanted. Her nippled were poking through the soft cotton of her bra and Clay wished that he could suck on them, show her what it felt like to have them loved on, but for now his focus was getting her used to his touch. He let his hand stay on the claps of her bra for a moment, giving her time to say no, before unclipping the bra, leaving the straps on her shoulders. 

“See Em, we’re gonna get there,” Clay teased in her ear, brushing his thumb against the side of her breast. The soft, warm skin felt so fucking good, but Clay didn’t allow himself to think about what they would feel like in his hands, only focused on Emma and her reaction to being touched. His thumb moved gradually across her breast until it hit her nipple.

“And I want more,” Emma gasped, eyes squeezed shut at the sensations flooding through her body. She squirmed in Clay’s lap, trying to get closer and further away from him at the same time

“I got you, this ok Em?” Clay questioned, moving one of his hands to her hips, moving her back and forth to help her find a rhythm. “You like me touching you, having my hands on you?”

Emma nodded, biting her lip to keep her sounds at bay. They weren’t in her bedroom, and the backseat of Clay’s truck wasn’t exactly sound proof. 

“Need to hear you say it babe,” Clay moaned, thrusting against the soft fabric of her leggings. The more worked up that Emma got the less control he had over his own mouth and body. He was just as on edge, if not more so with the effort it took not to mindlessly rut against her. 

“I like it, when you, um, when your hand.”

“When my hand does what?” Clay said, thumbing the tip of her nipple gently, while the other hand moved her hips back and forth, dragging them against his erection.

“My breast, when you touch me there, Clay, please,  _ more, _ ” Emma whined, grinding down hard. Clay removed his hand from underneath her shirt and placed it back on her hip, focusing on thrusting and grinding against her. Emma, overwhelmed with the sensation, dropped her head to his shoulder and panted and moaned in his ear. “ _ Clay _ ,” she moaned, breathing heavily, “please.”

“I got you Emma, I’m right here, you look so pretty like this, you’re ok,” Clay babbled, trying to hold out so that she could orgasm first, but his control was slipping. The heat of Emma’s arousal pressing on his jeans combined with the small mewls and whimpers she breathed in his ear were too much and Clay felt himself orgasm while Emma was still grinded against him. When his breathing calmed down, Clay shifted Emma so that his thigh was in between her legs.

“Babe, you made me feel so good, let me, let go Emmie K,” Clay coached, sneaking his hand under her shirt again. Rolling her nipple between his fingers, Clay watched her mouth drop open and her skin flush pink. “Come on, Em, you’re right there, come for me,” Clay breathed into her ear, tugging on it gently. 

“Clay, I’m,” Emma groaned. “Babe, it’s,  _ please _ .”

Emma’s orgasm rushed through her quickly, leaving her mouth open in a gasp as her body shook. While she caught her breath, Clay pet down her sides, soothing her with his touch as best as he could. He fastened her bra back into place, making sure that everything was put back together. They had really pushed the envelope tonight, but Clay had no regrets. 

Emma wanted this, had told him that she wanted this, but yet the niggling thought in the back of mind said that it was too soon. 

“Stop thinking,” Emma muttered against his neck.

“What?”

“You’re thinking too much, I just want you to hold me.”

“That can be arranged,” Clay said, moving her to sit across his lap, rather than straddling. “We do need to talk about that, though.”

“I liked everything you did, and I have no regrets,” Emma said primly, eyes sparkling with mischief. “I wanted to, Clay, you didn’t push me into anything.”

“I know that, but Em, there’s so much more to sex than just what makes you feel good. I know it’s easy to get carried away, but let’s agree not to rush it, let it just happen naturally.”

“That’s unfairly hard when you’re this sexy,” Emma pouted playfully. 

“Right back at’cha babe,” Clay laughed, squirming in his seat. It wasn’t comfortable to walk around with wet pants and he’d bet that Emma wasn’t feeling to comfy there either. “Come on, Emmie K, we gotta clean up a bit.”

“Oh thank god, I thought I was the only one,” Emma blurted out, flushing. “Do I have clothes at your place?”

Clay hesitated, his place was a half hour away but her’s was closer and he had clothes there. They’d clean up and head downstairs to watch a movie on the couch.  _ Couldn’t break curfew if you were already in the house,  _ he thought to himself, not wanting to rock the boat any further. “Let’s go to yours, I have clothes there, and we’ll be back in time for curfew.”

Emma considered it for a moment, pretending to think hard. “Will you hold me while we watch tv?”

“You bet Em, if you ask nice, I’d even brush your hair out for you,” Clay counter offered, helping Emma back into the front seat. 

“Deal,” Emma said, kissing his lips lightly. They had missed the sunset that evening, but Emma couldn’t help by think that the light show in the backseat had been more than worth missing her favorite part of the day. 

After all, there would be another sunset tomorrow, but being with Clay wasn’t guaranteed and she intended to make the most out of every minute they had together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter took a village to create, thank you to all of those who helped brainstorm and reassured me that I was on the right track <3
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed, please take the time to leave a thought of what you liked, what you would want to see next, and your favorite part of the chapter. As always, stay healthy and stay safe.


	9. Chapter Nine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You knew about this?” Jason cornered Clay, hoping that he was just as in the dark.  
> “I had no idea, how the hell did she get his number? Did you know about this?”  
> Jason shook his head, trying to figure out when exactly Emma had gotten involved in the world he was so desperate to keep her from. “I don’t know kid, why is she playing politics and why did no one know about it?” Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen to find Emma seated at the table, drinking a glass of water and listening to Harrington tell her a story from his glory days in the Navy. His kid had a lot of explaining to do, hell there were a lot of people that had some explaining to do.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m back, here’s a nice long one to make up for the fact that 1) it’s been a long time and 2) that I didn’t write anything for SEAL Team Week

Turning into the parking lot for the base, Emma let out a deep breath as she parked. This was the last place she wanted to be, especially on a day where she was supposed to be in class, taking an exam.

But much like her father, when the call came, she went. Getting her college bills paid for was more important than taking an English exam that she was sure she would pass. It was one thing that she could do to make things a little easier for her family, for her dad, for Mikey. It was a little extra work, scheduling her classes and working with her teachers to make sure that she graduated on time.

But it was worth it. 

It had to be worth it.

Emma swiped her badge to the long-forgotten door on the opposite side of the base and eagerly stepped into the briefing room. The sooner that she got in and did her work, the sooner she could get home. As she settled down into her cubicle, Emma set up her monitor and popped in her earbuds, actively avoiding the eager stares of the man sitting behind her. From the very first day that she started working in intelligence, Eliott Richards had stared at her, almost unblinkingly. No matter how many times she glared or ignored him, quite pointedly, he never got the hint.

It didn’t matter, she was there to do her job and go home. Creepy men not included. 

The clips started and time flew by, and soon enough Emma had a small notebook full of information that was sure to go to some unlucky team. Hopefully it wouldn’t be Bravo, though it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. There were times that Emma could have sworn that she heard rumblings between the guys of information that she uncovered, but she could never be sure.

And she sure as hell wasn’t going to bring up that she knew some of the hell holes that they went to and what they were walking into. Not on her life. 

Home life was separate from work life. 

Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself. It was getting harder and harder each day for Emma to make sure that she wasn’t bringing work home and for the first time in her life, she could empathize with her dad. 

She had always seen her mom’s side of the story, how Jason was never home and even when he was home it wasn’t  _ all _ of him. But now that the tables were turned… it was getting harder and harder to make sure that Mikey still had all of her at home. He deserved at least that much.

By the time she finally logged off and turned in her work, it was midday and Emma was starving and more than ready to get out the dank intelligence office that she had found herself in. Emma waved goodbye to her supervisor and dug through her bag, hoping that there was some sort of snack hidden in the pockets, not paying attention to where she was going until she was on the floor. 

“Oof,” Emma huffed, dazed. 

“I’m sorry there, I wasn’t really lookin’ where I was going, I didn’t mean nothin’ - Sunshine?”

“Uncle Sonny?”

“What are you doin’ here? Isn’t today a school day?”

Emma blinked for a moment, before taking the outstretched hand in front of her face. While it wasn’t unusual for her to run into any of her uncles, or really anyone part of her Bravo family, she was expecting them to wander so far from the DEVGRU portion of the base. As she straightened herself up, Emma thought about what she wanted to say to Sonny, if she wanted to say something to him at all. Even though he and Clay had made up, and for that she was grateful, it didn’t mean that she had forgiven him. 

The two of them stood awkwardly together, neither one speaking. Emma could see Sonny getting visibly uncomfortable with the silence, but until he had something to say about how he treated her, she wasn’t interested in hearing what he had to say.

Just when she was about to walk away, her stomach growled and Sonny saw his opening. “Come on, Sunshine. Just one meal. Remember the ice cream dates when you were small?”

Emma nodded, unable to force herself to be cold to Sonny. Not for very much longer anyways. 

* * *

* * *

Sonny led the way down to the base cafeteria, desperately wracking his brain for something that he could say to Emma. anything really. There was a time when Emma would be talking a mile a minute just to get a chance for Uncle Sonny to share a funny story or some wise Texas wisdom, but looking at his niece, you would never guess that she once exuded life.

She was serious, shoulders slumped, even her bright smile was dimmed. 

The breath shot of his chest when he realized that  _ this _ was what Clay and Jason were talking about. This wasn’t the girl that he remembered and certainly not the same person that called him Uncle Sonny.

Whoever this stranger was needed to  _ go _ , and leave behind his Sunshine in her place. 

“Alright Sunshine, spill. Why are ya here on base?”

“I work for the extra portion of my GI bill, so that school is paid for and dad doesn’t have to worry as much,” Emma said, popping another french fry into her mouth. “Turns out having desirable skills is a good thing when you’re trying to squeeze more money out of the government.”

“I’m sorry, ya do what now?” Sonny asked in disbelief. Surely Emma didn’t mean that she was working full time while she was still in school so that they could pay for college. They would have chipped in towards the bill if they knew. In a heartbeat. But it didn’t look like Jason or even Emma’s pride would have allowed that, they were too stubborn to take what they viewed as charity. 

“My GI bill only covered a portion of school, no matter where I went and I couldn’t get approved for any loans on this short of notice, so to cover the difference, I work for a portion of the intelligence wing using my ‘special skills’ to assist with some of the intelligence that they’re bringing.”

“So, you’re a spook then?” Sonny blurted out, then immediately regretted his words when Emma’s face shuttered over again, much like Clay’s did when he didn’t want to talk about something. 

“No, Uncle Sonny, I’m not a spook. I’m just working on translating videos. I have no interest in joining the CIA and I’m not going to up and disappear on you.”

“And you’ve clearly had that conversation before, haven’t ya?”

“Clay wasn’t too happy when I told him either, but it’s what’s going to work for my family and I’ll make it work for my relationships as well, not that that’s any of your business.”

“You got one thing right there, little lady. Your relationship...it’s not any a’ my business, and I got something to say that I’m hopin’ you’ll let me get out before pullin’ me by the ear like Davis tends to do when I’m being stupid.”

“You’re going to say it whether I want you to or not, Uncle Sonny, just get it off your chest.”

_ Clearly, you’re gonna have to work a little harder than just a simple spit shine, _ Sonny thought to himself. Emma was clearly pissed off and a few cute words weren’t going to solve the problem. “I think you’re old enough to hear a motto of mine: when you fuck up, you own up, and Sunshine I fucked up bad here. I took out a frustration on you and Wonder Boy that you both didn’t deserve and ended up hurtin’ you, and for that I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t get it, Uncle Sonny. Why are you so frustrated by the two of us being happy? What did the two of us ever do to you?”

“You two didn’t do anything,  _ you  _ didn’t do anything, I’m just having a hard time, uh, figuring out that I can’t fix ya with just a cup of ice cream. I don’t know how to be your Uncle Sonny when it seems like you’re not quite my Sunshine anymore. Everything’s changed.”

Sonny saw Emma think about her words and not for the first time, he was reminded of Alana when she wanted to make sure that what she was saying had meaning. “I know that a lot of things aren’t the same, but Sonny, I’m the same person. I’m still your Sunshine, but I need your help to make sure that  _ my  _ Sunshine comes home with you. I don’t know how to describe that I need him, that he keeps me calm, helps me go home to Mikey and be all of the things that he needs me to be. It’s Clay keeping the rain clouds away, not mom, not anymore.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to see that Sunshine,” Sonny said, taking one last bite of his burger. “But I do, I see it and I’m so sorry that I doubted you. Can you forgive me?”

“It’s not going to be easy, Uncle Sonny, you really hurt me, and you hurt Clay. And I know that Clay won’t ever tell you how much your betrayal hurt him. But it did. I need your word that you aren’t going to hurt him like that ever again. He’s it for me, but Sonny, he’s your brother. You chose someone else over your  _ brother _ , and didn’t even give him a chance to explain. That’s something that isn’t easily forgotten, by anyone. I need your word and then I need you to follow up those words with actions. We  _ cannot _ go through this again, none of us will survive.”

“You have my word, Emma Kate. I won’t hurt  _ either _ of you like that again.” Sonny stared at Emma, trying to convey that he was serious. 

“Good,” Emma said, standing up from her place at the table. “I better go before they find more work for me to do while I’m on base.”

“You sure that you don’t need a ride back?” Sonny couldn’t help but ask.

Emma just shook her head and kissed Sonny’s cheek, heading towards the door. She was more than capable of getting herself home and the sooner that Uncle Sonny realized that she was grown the better. 

Sonny watched Emma walk out and wiped the calm smile off of his face. Gone was the happy-go-lucky uncle that she knew and in his place was the sailor that left no stone turned and was more than happy to yippe-ki-yay as he brought down some of the world’s greatest horrors. 

Stalking back to the cages, Sonny felt the fire burn brighter in his chest. While he was fine and dandy over Sunshine and WonderBoy making a go of it, it was a whole ‘nother matter that he was lettin’ her go and become a, a, a  _ spook _ . That just wasn’t acceptable, no matter how you looked at it. “Spenser!” he roared, tearing through the cages like a tasmanian devil. “Where the hell are you!”

“Whoa, I’m right here Son, what’s the matter?”

“Did you know about this?”

“Know about what?”

“Jason, you know your daughter’s a fuckin’ spook? That she’s being pawned out to the CIA of all the god damn agencies in the world!”

“Son, what are you talking about brother, Emma’s not recruited to the CIA,” Ray said, coming between Sonny and Clay. He was getting awfully tired of stepping between the two of them, but this was just getting ridiculous.

“Then why on God’s green Earth is she translatin’ some secret ass shit for the spooks?”

Clay sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. He was sure that this would come out, but he wasn’t expecting it to be today. “She’s working for the GI Bill, did she tell you any of that?”

The best thing to do was to try and figure out what he knew and what else he needed to smooth over so that they could move on. They were just starting to get back to normal, they didn’t need any more hiccups.

“Yeah she told me, explained in that no-nonsense tone that Alana taught her that this was the best thing that she could do for her family and that I was to just take it at face value, but that’s a crock a’shit.”

“I didn’t get a chance to even make another decision, Son,” Jason said from the corner. For once he was speaking up not to break up a fight between Clay and Sonny, but to try and reason with an anger that was just bubbling to the surface. Sonny and Alana were closer than any of his men and her death ripped him apart in a way that had never been done before. He was broken down and putting the pieces together took Sonny facing emotions that he would normally cover up with glitter and girls from the champagne room. 

The changes that Emma was making forced him to see that Alana’s death had more effects than any of them realized and they all needed to accept them for what they were: changes, for better or for worse.

“We were dealing with Adam’s death, trying to put the pieces of Bravo back together, and while I was gone, my kids picked themselves up and moved on. Emma figured out a way to make things happen and I didn’t get a say.”

Sonny stopped, trying to think with his brain before opening his mouth. “And you just go along with this Clay?”

“Oh she knows that I don’t like it, I don’t like that she’s adding another thing on to her plate and that she’s working full time, but I dare you to try and make Emma Kate Hayes stop something once she’s decided that she’s doing something.”

Sonny deflated, knowing that Clay was right. If they had found out earlier and tried to stop her, hell woulda froze over.

“Now that we’ve got that sorted, Trent and Brock are waiting for us by the helo pad. We got a long way to go before quitting time.”

* * *

* * *

By the time that classes had finished for the day and Emma had gotten home, the sun had long since set and Mikey was hard at work doing homework upstairs. Every now and then she heard the scrape of his chair on the hardwood when he got frustrated. Her own homework was frustrating her more than she wanted to admit, but it would keep for a bit. The front creaked open and Emma turned to see Clay walking through the door. 

“Hey Emmie K,” he said softly, kissing her lips gently. 

“Hey yourself sailor, have a good day?” she asked, closing her books. Studying would have to wait for another day. 

“I did, but how are you? You alright?”

“I’m good, had to go to base for a little bit, a project got out of hand,” Emma deliberately left things vague to not worry anyone. The last thing she needed was her and Clay getting into another argument over the work they were having her do, which was far more involved than what they originally agreed upon. 

“You sure you’re getting enough rest, have you had dinner?” Clay couldn’t help but push her a little more. The circles under her eyes had darkened and if she lost any more weight Clay was sure that he would be able to count her ribs.

“I’m sure, are the other’s coming tonight?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way. Jace just dropped me off before going to get the pizza. Something about not wanting to see us say hello, but then again I can’t even blame him ‘cause I get to do this,” Clay said, kissing her gently. 

Their kiss escalated slowly, but before they could get too carried away, Emma’s phone rang. Looking apologetically at Clay, Emma walked out onto the porch past Jason to take the call, answering with a clipped “Hayes.”

“She has to go back in?” Jason questioned Clay, practically throwing the pizza boxers across the table. “It really couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

“She’s not supposed to be working on time sensitive stuff, she’s not even supposed to be translating intel at  _ all _ . It was just supposed to be working in the office and they’re taking advantage of her, Jace. 

“We’ll figure it out, Clay. This isn’t going to be forever, I won’t let her run herself into the ground.”

“I’m gonna go walk her to the car,” Clay sighed, struggling to compose himself. He wanted what Emma wanted, but he wished that it didn’t hurt as badly as it did. For the first time, he was getting a taste of what Emma felt like when he got spun up and he didn’t like it all. It was just another reminder of the fact that Emma was much stronger than anyone else gave her credit for, himself included.

“Em,” Clay called out, wrapping her in his arms. 

“I have to go,” Emma whispered in his chest, not wanting to leave the comfort of his embrace. 

“I know, I’ll be here when you get back.”

Emma sighed and kissed him again before heading towards her car. The longer she spent getting to base the longer it would take for her to get home to Clay. This was just another part of the deal she signed and she wasn’t going to quit now, not when this was her ticket to her future.

And it was a future that she could just start to see coming into fruition, no turning back now.

* * *

* * *

Pulling up to the driveway, Emma let out a sigh of relief tinged with just a little bit of frustration. She was finally home, at almost eleven, but it seemed like the boys had never left. 

Meaning that her wish for a quiet house would be ignored. Nothing good ever came from a driveway full of cars long after they said that they were going to be gone. 

Either something had happened and they were closing ranks, or they were too drunk to drive themselves back home. 

Regardless, she couldn’t stay out in her car all night, or morning, whatever time it was; it was far past time for Emma to be asleep, that was for sure. Emma opened the door as quietly as she could, hoping that no one would see her and she could just crawl into her bed. Instead of a house full of rowdy drunk men crowding around a television or a poker table, she found a dark house. There was the dim glow of the television from the living room, but other than that, it looked just like every other night she came home late when the guys were spun up, empty and silent. 

“Em?” A voice called out, startling her.

“Clay?” Emma whispered, making her way towards the living room. “What are you doing down here?”

“Sonny broke out the booze after you left, Ray took the keys with him back to his house so no one could drive,” Clay said sheepishly through a yawn. “I was waiting for you to get back. How did everything go?”

Emma felt herself flush. Normally it was her waiting for Clay to come home, whether it was from base or some foreign country that he was operating in. For him to be on the other side of the door was comforting, it felt like returning home. Finally he would know what it was to wait by the door, not knowing when the other would return. Which was more than a little dramatic, but still, it was the thought that mattered. 

You never knew what would be the last time you saw someone walking through the front door. 

“It was fine, I got the damn thing done and over with, the intel should go out tomorrow morning and I won’t have to hear about it anymore.” Emma yawned, rubbing at her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was shower, but the stickiness of her skin combined with the grit in her eyes let her know that skipping one wasn’t quite an option. “Will you be up for a while?”

“Should be, I’m tired but I can stay up for a bit,” Clay responded, sitting up straighter on the couch. The whole reason that he had ‘allowed’ Sonny the guest bedroom was to have some alone time with Emma when she came back. Now that she was finally home, he wasn’t going to let that opportunity go to waste. 

“I’m going to shower, I’ll be back after,” Emma said, kissing him lightly on the forehead. 

Clay nodded, trying to keep his thoughts from straying to a place that he wasn’t prepared to deal with at that present moment. Emma in the shower, preferably with him, was a frequent thought of his, all warm and wet skin, pressed against his… _ Control yourself Spenser! _ He thought to himself, managing to squeak something out as Emma walked up the stairs. He could distantly hear the sound of the pipes creaking to life upstairs, but try as he might Clay couldn’t keep his eyes open. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and soon enough the period of time that Clay had his eyes open were shorter than the ones his eyes were closed. She was home safe and he would see her in the morning. Clay stretched out on the chaise portion of the unfairly comfortable couch and let himself drift off to the pleasant dreamland he created where only he and Emma existed. 

By the time Emma had finished her shower, the bathroom was thick with steam and Emma felt more relaxed than she had in days. Of course, after spending almost a half hour pampering herself, she should feel relaxed. After too many days of not washing her hair or taking care of herself, it was nice to have this time to focus on Emma Kate and no one else. Too tired to care about anything other than crawling into bed, Emma threw on a pajama top and shorts and padded down the stairs, stopping first to peak in on Mikey, surrounded by Brock and Trent on the futon with Cerberus. Standing at the top of the stairs, she could hear her dad’s faint snores from behind his bedroom door combined with Sonny’s from the guest room and smiled. Everyone was home with her, but she was going to what she considered her home just around the corner. 

Clay was slumped against the couch cushion and for a moment it looked like he was still awake, waiting for her. But when she came closer, the gentle rise and fall of his chest and soft snores gave him away. 

He fell asleep but damn was he cute, all soft curls and gentle smiles. Emma would never tell him, but Clay turned into a little boy when he was sleeping and it never failed to endear him to her, even when he was being an ass. Emma settled gently next to him on the chaise, tugging some of the blanket towards her. If Clay had managed to wait all this time for her to come down, she could spend the night on the couch with him. 

“Babe,” Clay mumbled sleepily, turning towards Emma and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Shh,” Emma murmured, nestling into his neck. “Go to sleep, I’m here.”

Clay eased back into the couch, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. The only thing better than having Emma in his dream world was having her in his arms for real. 

How he ever got so lucky, Clay would never know but as long as he lived, he wouldn’t stop being grateful to have Emma in his life. 

* * *

* * *

The fog on the windows acted like a cloud surrounding them, separating Emma and Clay from the outside and leaving them in the perfect bubble of his truck and the sensations they were creating together. Emma was placing sweet kisses to his neck and nibbling at the spot that drove him crazy with lust. It was a scene that featured heavily in his dreams and tonight was no exception. 

Clay allowed himself to move freely, let his hands wander where they wanted, down her back and over her stomach, fingers creeping underneath the shirt that she wore. It was always a variation on the same, they were in his car and Emma was on his lap and everything was perfect. 

There was no curfew, no insecurities, and definitely no need to stop. 

“Clay, don’t stop,” Emma groaned in his ear and his hands made their way to her breasts. “I want more.”

Clay was more than happy to oblige, hips thrusting against Emma while his hands cupped her breasts, rolling over her nipples with his thumbs. “You like that babe, like when I have my hands on you, making you feel good?” Clay panted in her ear, daring to pinch her nipple gently with one hand while the other rested on her bare stomach, right above the waistband of her leggings. 

“I love it, you make me feel so good, babe,” Emma replied, grabbing his wrist in an attempt to force his hand lower. 

Clay continued to toy with her breasts as he sucked at her neck, leaving Emma panting, moaning his name in his ear. “Clay, Clay  _ Clay. _ ”

Peeking to make sure that Emma was still comfortable and definitely consenting, Clay felt the dream pull away, leaving him on the couch with Emma in his arms and his hands in places they had definitely never wandered before. 

For a second he thought that his dream had morphed into something else, but the television playing infomercials in the early morning dawn combined with the slight crick in his neck told him otherwise. 

Then there were the moans. 

Emma’s soft groans and mewls featured heavily in his dreams. But these sounded different from fantasies that his mind had conjured. They were needy and strained and entirely unlike the bashful sounds he managed to draw from her the last time they were together. 

This time the moans he heard dripping from Emma’s mouth were  _ real. _

* * *

* * *

Emma was warm, drifting in the land between being fully awake and fully asleep, content in Clay’s arms. The sky was still dark and Emma was more than happy to drift back to sleep until she actually had to get up for the day. Snuggling into Clay, Emma let herself press as close to him as she could get, craving the strength and comfort he provided. Just as she was drifting off to sleep again, her eyes shot open.

If she wasn’t awake before, she was definitely wide awake now. 

Clay was pressed up against her, hot breath on her neck and his hands splayed out on her body. One cupping her breast in his hand and the other resting right above the waistband of her sleep shorts. 

And that was definitely not his gun pressing against her ass. 

Emma couldn’t move, could scarcely breathe. Simultaneously wanting Clay to wake up and  _ do  _ something and stay asleep so that he wouldn’t move from the position that they were in right now. Fidgeting slightly, Emma tried to twist her neck around to see if Clay was awake, although she wasn’t really sure what she would say if he actually was awake. This was very clearly further than they had gone before, but at the same time it felt like they were always stuck in the same place.

They kissed, touched, briefly, if at all, and that was it. And damn it, Emma wanted more than that. She wanted to know what it would feel like for Clay to lose some of the control that he held onto so tightly. Wanted to know what it would be like if she and Clay were on equal playing fields and he didn’t have to teach her so many things just so they could be together. 

Clay stirred in his sleep, but settled down quickly and Emma resigned herself to the fact that she was just going to be hot and bothered until he woke up and would have to figure out how to  _ take care of things _ on her own later. But try as she might, Emma couldn’t stop thinking about what exactly his hands could do if they moved just an inch or two lower or how good it would feel like Clay’s hands were under her shirt. 

“Clay,” Emma whispered, hoping it would be like when she was a kid and wanted her mother to wake up in the middle of the night. “Babe,” she said, voice breaking into a bit of whine when his hand started moving on her breast.

Clay paid her no mind, face nestling into her neck as his hot breath fanned against her neck. As his hands began to move, Emma was surprised at the differences in his movements. These were not the tender, sometimes tentative, caresses that Clay had shown her in the previous times they were together. These were firmer, harder, insistent. 

When Clay’s hand started to drift lower than her waistband of her sleep shorts, Emma felt like she could hardly breathe. His large hand cupped between her legs and Emma let a whine that didn’t even sound like her own voice. 

“Clay,” Emma begged, mewling softly while trying to figure out how to  _ move _ . She needed to do something or she was going to explode. 

“Em,” Clay said sleepily into her ear, shifting against her back. 

Clearly, he wasn’t awake enough to realize what was happening, but that suited Emma just fine. Emma ground her ass into Clay, relishing the feeling of his arm tightening around her and the warmth of his cock against her pajama shorts, even through the sweats that he had worn to sleep. 

Emma felt the exact moment that Clay woke up and realized what was happening. His arm tightened around her waist, moving to ‘safe’ locations as Clay tried to put as much space between them as he could manage on the couch cushion. 

“Babe, no, don’t stop,” Emma muttered, twisting and searching for his mouth, sliding her legs between his. 

“Em, what are we doing?” Clay said, voice still thick with sleep. 

“Shh,” Emma hushed, kissing him softly, trying to keep him calm. Their lips met over and over and Clay relaxed into her again, arms settling low on her back, though his fingers were still tracing that damn waistband. Emma itched for him to touch her, wanted to feel his hands on her,  _ in  _ her, but didn’t know how to ask. 

Maybe it was time to just show him what she wanted. 

Reaching behind her, Emma dragged one of his hands under her shirt and placed it on her breast, fully expecting to hear some sort of statement about how it was too soon or that it was too fast or some other nonsense. 

But Clay didn’t say a word, he gazed down at her and squeezed gently, still slightly more gentle with her than when he was asleep, to Emma’s frustration. 

“Good Morning Emmie K,” Clay said, pinching her nipple lightly with his fingers. 

“Morning babe, you seemed like you were,  _ oh _ , having an interesting dream,” Emma got out, still struggling to express her desire fully. 

Clay nodded against her forehead, he was having a good dream but this was better than any dream. Having her in his arms, face flushed with pleasure… nothing could compare. 

“Wanna share what you were dreaming about?” Emma asked, pushing her hips towards him, looking for any sort of friction that would ease the ache between her legs. 

Clay debated with himself for a minute, unsure of whether he wanted to share that tidbit of information with her, but her soft moans and mewls egged him on. “I was dreaming about you, Ms. Emma Kate,” he teased, kissing down her throat. “Touching you, kissing you, hearing you moan my name just as I was about to touch you.”

Emma didn’t want to wait any longer, couldn’t wait for him to realize that she wanted more than what she was getting. “I want that,  _ please  _ Clay,” she begged, twisting around again so that her ass was pressed against his front. “Please, just touch me.”

Clay bit at the spot behind her ear and rutted against her a few times, trying to think of a way that he could touch her without losing his cool or having anyone overhear them, but it was hard to keep his mind clear. It wasn’t exactly an ideal location for them to explore this part of their relationship, but Clay didn’t think that Emma would be receptive to them stopping just yet. At least they would be able to hear anyone coming down the steps before they saw anything they weren’t supposed to see. 

“Clay, please,” Emma cried out, grabbing his wrist to try and force his hand down between her legs again. 

“Shhh,” Clay whispered in her ear, plucking at her nipple while trying to soothe her. When her hand grabbed his wrist, Clay followed her lead, allowing his hand to travel across the smooth plane of her belly and over her pelvis, rubbing his thumb over her hip bones. “Baby, tell me where you want me to touch you.”

Clay wanted, wanting to see what Emma would say, if she even knew what to say. Clay was testing out a theory, hoping that he hadn’t read the situation wrong. The few times that they had been together, Emma seemed to enjoy the slightly  _ raunchier _ comments he had made.

“Anywhere, Clay.” Emma was breathing hard and if Clay wasn’t going to move his hands to where she wanted to, she would do it herself. Dragging her hand down past Clay’s, Emma slipped two fingers into her undies, petting gently, not knowing how to touch herself, she just wanted something to stop the ache between her legs.

Clay snatched her hand out of her undies, sliding his hand in to replace it. “I’ll touch you, Em, all you had to do was ask,” he growled into her ear, pressing her closer to him. “Is this where you want me?”

“ _ Yes,”  _ Emma whined, wiggling impatiently. The rough calluses on his hands were creating delicious friction and he wasn’t even moving. 

Clay kissed and sucked on her neck, tugging on her earlobe as his finger swept through her folds. “I love seeing you like this, you’re so beautiful Em.” Clay kept his touch light, keeping an eye out for any sign of discomfort or unease. As they spent more time together, Clay began to learn Emma’s body. But no matter how long they had been together or how many afternoons that devolved into make out sessions on his couch, Clay always wanted her to consent, especially when they were continuing to push the envelope. 

Rubbing against her clit gently with his thumb, Clay let one of his fingers start to probe gently at her opening, testing the waters. Emma’s mouth dropped open and she whined low in her throat as his finger inched forward. Clay stopped to breathe for a moment, collecting himself. She was warm, and hot, and wet around him panting in his ear and all he could think about was Emma wrapped around a different part of his body. 

“Clay, if you don’t start doing  _ something _ , I’m going to explode,” Emma said, wiggling her hips, brushing against his cock with every shift of her hips. 

“Emmie K, you want me to touch you, want my fingers inside of you, making you feel good?” Clay whispered in her ear, brushing his thumb against her clit while one finger sunk into her pussy. 

Emma keened, head thrown back while she panted into his ear. Underneath the blanket they were hidden away from the world and all Emma could think about what the sensation that Clay was creating. The searing heat from his hands combined with the pressure was too much for her mind to process. 

“Clay,” Emma whined, bucking her hips to try and get his finger to move faster. 

“If you want something Emma, you have to ask for it,” Clay teased, sliding his finger back and forth slowly, while his thumb tapped a rhythm out on her clit. 

“I don’t, I want,  _ Clay _ ,” Emma said, grabbing his wrist. 

Clay paused, thinking about how he could get Emma to verbalize what she wanted. While he would love more than anything to take control and show Emma exactly what he wanted to do with her, she needed to learn what she liked and, more importantly, how to ask for it. 

“Em, do you like when I do this?” he asked, rubbing her clit, first in circles, then tapping, before pressing firmly up and down, testing to see which produced the best reaction.

Emma nodded, stifling her moans when Clay pressed against her firmly. “I like, like that one, babe,” Emma moaned. “ _ Harder. _ ”

Clay grinned as he sucked on her neck, doing his best not to mark her too deeply. He followed her lead, pressing against her firmly. When Emma began to shake, Clay let go of the pressure on her clit.

“Why, why, why,” Emma cried out, reaching for Clay. 

“Were you close, Em, about to come on my fingers?” Clay questioned in her ear, selfishly pressing his own cock to her ass. Emma wiggled back and forth, feeling his cock settle in between her legs. 

“ _ Yes!”  _ Emma hissed, shaking her head back and forth. “Please Clay, touch me, I want your fingers in me.”

Clay didn’t hesitate to comply, one finger, then two. “Move your hips Em, find a rhythm that makes you feel good,” Clay coached her, keeping his hand steady for her. “You can do it, babe, make yourself feel good, use my fingers.”

Emma bit her lip, concentrating on thrusting her hips against his hand. “Clay, your fingers,  _ oh god _ , right there,” she moaned brokenly when his fingers curled against a spot deep inside her pussy that she didn’t even know she could reach. 

She came with a silent cry, clenching around his fingers wishing that they could be together fully but grateful that they found a pocket of time together. While she was coming down from her high, Clay stroked up and down her sides, doing his best to keep from pressing his hips against hers. Emma had gotten off, but Clay was still hard and wanting. 

He never felt that Emma had to reciprocate, but seeing her fall apart in his arms made him more desperate than ever to find that release. 

Still shaking, Emma turned towards Clay and kissed him gently before snaking a hand in between them, intending on giving Clay the same pleasure that she just received. But Clay caught her wrist gently, "Em, you pull those pants down and we're not going to be quiet for long" He looked at her, knowing that he would still stop her even if she was insistent that they keep going. His girl liked to plow through things head on, but sometimes it was better to take things slowly. And they had pushed the envelope far enough already.

"But you didn't…" Emma said, wondering if she was supposed to reciprocate.

"That's ok honey, I can take care of this myself," Clay settled back down on the couch, tugging her close to his side. Lying down next to Clay, she kissed him lightly. "Thank you Clay."

Deciding not to argue and tell her that she didn't have to thank him, Clay just kissed her and got up from the couch, intent on finding a quiet spot to take care of business.

"Hey Clay?" Emma called from the couch, stopping him before he could open the door to the bathroom. Getting off the couch she walked towards him, and wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head up to look at him, still flushed with her chest heaving.

"Yeah Emmie K," Clay squeaked out, not sure where she was going with this.

"Think of me in there," She whispered before taking one hand sliding it down between their bodies once more, resting it just above the waistband of his boxers.

Gasping, Clay retorted, "Don't you worry about that one Em, you're the only one I'll be thinking of, those moans of yours…" He trailed off as Emma grasped the pronounced bulge in her hand before pulling her away. "Emmie K," he groaned, shutting his eyes at the sensation of her delicate hand wrapped around him.

"Now you can go," Emma kissed him, lying back down against the couch cushion. The longer she laid there, the more she convinced herself that she could hear Clay moan in the bathroom, but exhaustion took hold once more and Emma drifted off again. Just before sleep could officially claim her, Emma felt Clay slip in behind her once more, and to Emma, there was nothing more perfect than her and Clay going to sleep and waking up together. 

Along with all of the stuff in between, of course. 

Emma really liked the in between stuff. 

* * *

* * *

Blinking in the early morning light, Emma panicked for a minute, not remembering where she was or how she ended up somewhere that wasn’t her bedroom. The couch was unusually crowded and it took Emma longer than she wanted to admit to remember what had happened in the early morning hours. 

But then the memories came rushing back and Emma leaned further into Clay’s strong chest, wishing that they could wake up like this every morning. Preferably with the orgasm added into the mix, that was for sure pretty great. 

Emma closed her eyes again, the time blinking on the cable box was far too early for her to be awake and she had another hour and a half before she really had to get up for class. She could afford to sleep in a little. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard voices in the kitchen and her heart began to pound in her chest. 

“Son!”

“Listen here, Ms. Davis. No one is awake yet and I, for one, have missed you.” Emma took a chance and peaked around the edge of the couch to see Lisa sitting around the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee while Sonny was rummaging through the cabinets before she returned to her hiding place. 

“I know that Son, I miss you too. But maybe this isn’t the best place to be sneaking around,” Lisa got up from the table and stood next to him, slightly hidden behind the pantry door.

“Davis, we’re not sneaking. Sunshine and Wonder Boy are still curled up over there like two rolly pollies and I doubt they’re gonna be waking up any time soon. One little kiss isn’t gonna hurt nobody.”

The kitchen was silent, and Sonny scoffed. “I didn’t say nothin’ mean, they are curled up like that and you know it.”

“Be nice,” Lisa scolded. Emma was never so grateful as to have a women in her life that understood what her pseudo uncles were like, they were a handful and Lisa Davis saw that more than most women. And dealt with it every day to boot. 

If anyone could wrange Uncle Sonny into submission, it was Lisa Davis.

The kitchen was silent again, and Emma couldn’t resist looking again to see Sonny and Lisa kissing gently. Maybe Emma and Clay weren’t the only ones that were exploring a relationship.  _ Good to know _ , Emma thought to herself, thinking of the ways she could use this information. While she didn’t always life to blackmail people, it sure came in handy when little brothers were being annoying. Surely the same principle could apply to annoying uncles. 

“Someone’s up, Son,” Lisa said, pulling away from Sonny. But before she could move out of the kitchen and discover Emma awake on the couch, Emma decided to make her presence known by walking into the kitchen, intent on finding some of the coffee that Lisa had made.

“Morning,” Emma said with a fake yawn, secretly pleased that she had found them together. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Aunt Lisa. The woman had to be a saint for dealing with all of the men on Bravo on a daily basis. 

“Morning Sunshine, how’d you sleep?” Sonny stuttered out, not knowing how much Emma heard or saw, or really what to say to her. They had worked out all of their issues yesterday, laid all of the cards out on the table, yet Sonny still felt awkward. Standing in front of him was the same Emma Kate that he had known, but she was different and he didn’t know what to make of it. How could someone be the same and different all at the same time?

“Better than usual Uncle Sonny, which was nice. All of you are home safe.” Emma fixed her coffee, not noticing the look of concern that Sonny gave to Lisa. The girl had maybe slept for six hours and was up and functioning like she did this regularly. “You making the Quinn special for breakfast this morning?”

“You betcha Sunshine, you want your normal order?” The first time that Sonny had met Mikey and Emma, they were both small. One day after an OP had gone bad and Jason ended up with twelve stitches in his gut, he made his way over to the Hayes’ house intent on cheering up the kids with some breakfast, which is about all Sonny Quinn knew how to make. Ever since that day, Emma asked for it when Sonny was over in the morning. 

“If you don’t mind Uncle Sonny, I can make breakfast if you want me too,”

“Absolutely not, you sit your tiny little behind down on that chair and let me do some of this work for a change.”

Emma squawked in protest, then looked at the time on the microwave. “Shit, I have to get Mikey up for school.” Looking longingly at her cup of coffee, she got up from her chair and began heading towards the stairs before being interrupted by Sonny, again. 

“Little Miss, Aunt Lisa here is gonna go wake up Mikey and bring him to school for the day. You are going to sit your little butt down and finish your coffee before the rest of the heathens drink it all. Then you’re going to eat your breakfast that I am ever so lovingly slaving over. And no, you are not going to do the dishes, Brock is on KP duty today.” Sonny redirected Emma over to her chair and pushed her down into it and sighed internally. This girl was stretched thin, but getting her to accept any sort of help was going to be a challenge. 

“Aunt Lisa, do you mind?” Emma still had to make sure that it was ok, not wanting to assume anything. 

“Yeah Em, no worries.” Lisa patted the girls shoulder gently as she looked at her face. The dark circles under her eyes were pronounced, making it look like Emma hadn’t slept, even though she knew that Emma had knocked out on the couch with Clay. Walking up the stairs, Lisa opened Mikey’s door to find the boy still asleep in his bunk, with Brock and Cerberus asleep on the top bunk. Shaking Mikey awake, she looked up to Brock’s inquisitive face staring down at her and Cerberus giving off a soft whine. Lisa mouthed ‘school’ and Brock nodded, intent on getting up and finding out where the rest of his brothers had slept.

“Sonny downstairs?” Brock asked while Lisa attempted to get the boy out of bed.

“Yeah, see if you can find the rest of the boys, breakfast is almost done. Emma is up already, but I doubt she’s going to school today. I think I’ll be able to convince her to take the day off,” Lisa said, musing as she shook Mikey awake. Emma needed to take a break, get some  _ real _ rest for a change. 

Brock wandered down the hallway and ran into Clay, pink skinned and fresh from the shower. “You see Trent yet?” Clay asked still slightly disheveled from the morning’s events. The last thing he remembered was dreaming of Emma only to woken with the lovely sight of Sonny Quinn in his boxers and an apron. 

“Right behind you,” Trent said as he walked out of the bathroom with Jason coming out of the master. 

“How did Emma sleep?” Jason asked, hoping that she wasn’t sick. Or that she didn’t have any nightmares. 

“As well as she could, no nightmares that I know of,” Clay said, looking anywhere but Jason’s face, not wanting to give away anything that had happened that morning.

“Morning Emmie K,” Clay placed a light kiss on Emma’s lip, not caring about the men in the room or their reaction to him kissing Emma. 

When no one said anything, Emma raised her eyebrows at Sonny, half expecting a joke from him about her now being sleeping beauty or some shit. At least Mikey was already being driven to school and didn’t have to witness her being the butt of a joke, again. 

“I’m not gonna say nothing Sunshine, long as he makes you happy, fine by me.” Sonny stopped flipping pancakes to look at Emma, hoping that he could show her that he was being serious. 

Nodding, Emma went back to finish her coffee before getting up to make another cup. The only sounds in the kitchen were those of clinking silverware, each man and woman too tired to make conversation until they had their fill of pancakes, but more importantly, of coffee.

“Emma, do you have anything you need to bring to school today, any tests or projects?” Lisa said, looking at Emma over her cup of coffee.

“No, I have an exam next week, but I should be ok, it’s in English so it’s not too bad, why?” Emma answered unthinkingly, mind going through her to-do list as she ate her pancakes. 

“So then you can take a day off,” Lisa postulated.

“What? No.”

“But you don’t have anything due today, no exams, and you’re going to be fine for the one that you have coming up. Why do you need to go to school when you need your rest?”

“Because I still have other classes that I need to do well in, and because I can’t just skip school whenever I feel like it.”

“You’re not skipping school, you’re taking a mental health day, one I very much think you need,” Lisa said firmly. “Clay, help me out here.”

“Oh I’m not getting in the middle of this,” Clay said through his mouthful of eggs. Turning towards Emma, he said, “I’ll support you in whatever you think is best Em, but I will agree and say you need to rest a little bit. But it’s your decision!” Clay babbled, thinking that no matter what he said he was still wrong. 

Emma wavered, Clay wouldn’t be as open with his feelings in front of everyone. But this was as close as he would get to saying it plainly that he was worried about her. 

“Just take a day Emma, it’s Friday. You’ll get the notes from your classmates and rest all weekend and be ready to go for Monday. I’ll even get Clay to sit with you on the couch until we have to leave,” Lisa wheedled, throwing in that last bit to subtly force her hand. 

Clay opened his mouth to protested, but the eyebrow on Lisa’s face slowly rose as his mouth snapped shut. Clearly, she wasn’t one to be messed with today and it was her way or the highway. 

Emma nodded, pushing her plate towards the middle of the table. She wasn’t going to win this argument, but she had to make sure that everything was taken care of before she could rest. “Ok, but then someone needs to drive Mikey to school, make sure he has two sandwiches and that he knows to turn in his science fair proposal. He has a math test today and needs to get to school early so that he can review with his teacher. And Dad, don’t forget that tonight’s take out night and -”

“Sunshine, go sit your pretty behind on that couch and let the rest of earn our keep. I promise ya, we’ll be fine for one day and so will Mikey,” Sonny said whipping his kitchen towel around as he dried that plates that Brock was washing. 

“But -” Emma started as Clay pulled her towards the couch. She had a system to get everything done and if it didn’t get done, she was letting everyone down. She had to get things done so that life could continue on the same way it had been. 

Emma needed that consistency and was terrified that one small change was going to send her house of cards tumbling to the ground. 

Clay wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close to his chest and Emma felt her shoulders relax. Her fast beating heart slowed and even though she was sleeping not even two hours earlier, she felt the pull of sleep again, lulled by the reassuring sound of Clay’s heartbeat in her ears. 

* * *

* * *

The next thing that Emma knew, she was blinking in the late afternoon sunlight, with Jameelah curled up next to her on the couch. Looking at the TV, Emma blinked, closed her eyes, opened them again. The time read four thirty in the afternoon, she had slept the entire day away. Hearing a low chuckle, she turned to her right side, trying not to disrupt Jameelah.

“Look who’s awake, have a good nap sweetheart?”

“Aunt Naima! Why did you let me sleep this long?” A slight panic started to creep up in Emma’s shoulders. There were a lot of things that she still had to get done before she went to school tomorrow, she couldn’t afford to miss another day.

“Because clearly you needed it, honey. You’re running yourself ragged here.” Naima, like everyone else, was concerned. She was going to get this girl to talk if it was the last thing that she did. Naima stayed silent, letting the girl flop back onto the couch cushion. “Emma, we need to talk about this” 

“Talk about what?” Emma pouted, looking very much like Jameelah did when she didn’t want to eat her broccoli.

“Why you don’t want to take help from other people. Why you’re trying to do everything by yourself. Why the only people you’re letting in are Clay and your father, and even then, you tell them the things that they can’t help you with. We need to talk about that.”

“I’m not trying to keep them at arm’s length, but there’s nothing that they can help me with when they’re off saving the world. They can’t exactly come over and help me clean the house or make Mikey dinner or figure out how I’m going to be in two different places at once. They can’t do anything about that.”

“Aunt Lisa and I are always around, and even Aunt Darcy is available to you if you need her.” Naima understood where Emma was coming from, the boys were often not home long enough to be much help in that department. 

“I always feel like I’m bothering you guys. You have RJ and Jameelah to worry about, Aunt Lisa is on OPs, and if I call her on the sat phone the boys go nuts. And Aunt Darcy is usually at work or I can’t reach her all the time.” 

“I can’t speak for the others, but honey, I need you to listen when I say this. When Uncle Ray joined Bravo and I met your mama, we both promised each other that if something was to happen to either of our families, that we would look after the others. I take my promises very seriously, and it is one that I intend to keep.”

“Mom really asked that of you?” Emma said quietly, fingering the floral pattern knit into the edge of the blanket. 

“She did, and I asked her to do the same. Bravo is family, and family takes care of one another. Let me honor your mama, let me help you Emma.”

“I don’t even know where to begin, Aunt Naima,” Emma ran her hand through her hair, frowning when she met some snarls 

“Well, then I’ll take something off your plate. Let me handle picking up Mikey.”

“You’re sure you want to do that Aunt Naima, with Jameelah’s schedule and getting RJ to take his naps, I know he’s been fussy -”

“Honey, let me pick up Mikey. I can manage picking someone up and dropping him off here or taking him to practice. That gives you more time to focus on school and spend time with your friends instead of shuttling back and forth.” Naima waited for a moment and let Emma process, sometimes it worked better if the kids found their own way to the conclusion that she had come up with, most of the time they felt it was their solution in the end and it was a win-win for everyone. “Does that work?” Naima prompted when Emma was still silent. 

“It does, I’m just tired of feeling like a burden,” tears sprung to Emma’s eyes. She wiped them hastily, not wanting to make a scene and wake the sleeping child on her lap.

“Emma Kate Hayes you stop that nonsense right now. If your mama was here she wouldn’t stand for that kind of talk and neither am I.” Naima said firmly, her own heart breaking for the girl. 

“I know I’m not, but I feel like I can’t do anything right. I don’t know what if I’m doing enough for Mikey, I don’t know what I want to do for college, I’m afraid that one day I’m going to get a phone call and lose my dad, or Clay, I can’t even help Hannah. I’m not enough for anyone right now” Tears were steadily dripping down her face as she avoided Naima’s gaze, twisting the blanket in her hands. 

“Baby, you are so enough. Mikey is thriving because of what you are doing for him. Hannah is going to get through this because you were able to get to her in time. We can figure out the college situation, and it doesn’t have to be decided today. You applied to a few schools locally right?” At Emma’s nod, she barreled forward. “Alright, then you and I can go and look at them together and see what programs they have. Surely some of them have music.”

“I don’t want to sing anymore, Aunt Naima. With mom not here… it’s not the same.” Emma hadn’t wanted to admit to anyone that she was feeling so disconnected from a part of her that used to make up a key part of her identity. How could she say that she knew what she wanted in life when all of her plans were meaningless because she had no desire to achieve them. And figuring out who she was after almost nineteen years of knowing  _ exactly _ what she wanted was terrifying. 

“If that’s what you want Em, then we can look at other programs at the schools you applied to, but don’t give up on something you love just because your mama isn’t here to watch you. She’s always here with you baby,” Naima said gently, wishing she could take some of the hurt away from her but knowing that she could never fill in the hole than Alana had left in their lives. 

“I know, but I need to do something that isn’t music. Something that helps people. I have to think about it some more, talk to Clay about it too.”

Naima smiled to herself. Emma and Clay were a frequent topic of conversation between herself and Alana Hayes. Naima thought she was crazy for allowing her teenage daughter to date someone almost ten years older than her, but looking at how Clay looked at Emma? No one could deny that what was there was something special. ,

“Speaking of Clay, the boys told me that they would all be back tonight by six and that they were bringing dinner, but you little lady should eat something before then. I betcha I can round up a snack for you and Jameelah.” Getting up off the couch, Naima walked into the kitchen before turning around to watch Emma tuck Jameelah further into the covers, stroking her hair away from her face.

Naima set a plate of apples and peanut butter down in front of Emma. “Good, and before they get here, we need to talk about one more thing. And I know this is none of my business, but you and Clay…” Naima trailed off, sure that Emma would get the jist of what she was saying. 

Emma went bright red. “Aunt Naima, mom covered that a long time ago. I know all about the birds and the bees.”

“Good, I’m glad. But that wasn’t really what I was talking about honey. If you want to talk about things with me, stuff that you can’t talk to Clay about or your dad, I’m here.” Naima said her piece and decided to let it be, not wanting to make the girl more uncomfortable.

Thankful Jameelah couldn’t figure out awkward tension if it bit her on the nose.

“Emmie?” Jameelah sang as she came wandering into the kitchen, knuckles rubbing her eyes with her stuffed bear underneath her arm.

“Hi pretty girl, have a good nap?” Looking down at the girl, Emma chuckled silently at the bed head she was sporting. 

“Uh huh. I dreamt I was a princess.” Jameelah squeezed her bear tightly, spinning slightly as if she was dancing with her bear.

“Why don’t we watch some princesses then? Daddy should be home soon.” Not waiting for her to make a decision, she grabbed her hand and walked her back into the living room. “I think I have Tangled.”

Princess movies were a common theme when Emma babysat for Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray, so Emma made sure that she kept a few in the house for the random nights when Jameelah and RJ stayed with her. 

“Yeah!” Jameelah snuggled down and let Emma turn on the movie for her, entranced by the music and characters on the screen. Once Emma saw that Jameelah was otherwise occupied, she went upstairs to change out of the pajamas she had worn the previous evening into some comfy leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Checking on Jameelah before going back into kitchen, Emma grabbed her laptop, she had some work to do to try and determine what the future would hold. Emma was so focused on her search that she didn’t hear the door open or the boys come through the door until she felt Clay’s arms wrap around her shoulders. Tilting her head up, she kissed him, smiling underneath his lips. 

“Hi Emmie K, how are you?” Clay was happy to see that Emma was at the table, looking a little more well rested than she had in the previous weeks.

“Better, turns out all I needed was some sleep and a little bit of tough love from Aunt Naima,” Emma closed her laptop and turned to see who else had come in with Clay. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Trent and Brock went to pick Mikey up from practice, but everyone else is on their way in. I came in first to see if you were awake, Naima hasn’t updated us in a little bit and we didn’t want to wake you.”

The door opened again and Sonny and Jason staggered in carrying bags of takeout with Ray close behind carrying a case of beer. “Uncle Ray, let me help,” Emma surged up from the chair and tried to grab the case of beer from Ray, when he refused she went over to Sonny to try and take a bag of food and was once again denied. 

“Sunshine, just sit down. We’ve got this one. Where are the small ones?” Sonny drawled holding the bag of food high over her head. 

“RJ is upstairs with Aunt Naima, he was being fussy earlier this afternoon. Jameelah is in the living room watching a movie. Are you sure I don’t need to do anything?”

“We’re sure Em, just sit back. What did you do today?” Jason said as he divvied out food onto plates. Mexican takeout wasn’t his favorite choice, but it was Brock’s turn to pick, which usually entailed the spiciest food that they could find. 

“I slept most of the day which was nice, tried to catch up on some school work. Talked over some things with Aunt Naima.”

“Things?” Jason questioned, looking over at Clay. Seeing the puzzled look on his face, it meant that the Kid didn’t know what she was planning. Emma liked to play things close to the vest, but usually Clay knew more than anyone else about Emma’s plans. 

“I have to do some more research before we talk about it,” Emma said looking at her dad. It wasn’t a good idea to tell her dad anything if there wasn’t a formulated plan. “And I wanted to talk to you about it when we got a chance,” Emma said, turning to look at Clay.

“Sure thing Emmie K, we can do that,” He said, squeezing her hand. Just then a small voice called out from the living room. “Emmie?”

Looking at Clay wryly, Emma got up from her chair and walked into the living room to find Jameelah standing in front of the TV. “What’s up pretty girl, you need something?”

“Yeah, can I have some juice?” Jameelah swayed from one foot to the other before following Emma into the kitchen, holding onto the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Once Jameelah got her juice, Emma still thought that she was acting oddly. Glancing at Ray, it seemed that he thought so too, mouthing over her head “What happened?”

Shrugging Emma heaved Jameelah onto her hip, “Anything else going on in that noggin of yours?” Emma didn’t know what she was thinking about, but it had to be good if she was silent. Four year olds were very rarely this quiet. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Jameelah said, pouting a little bit. 

Grinning, Emma held out her pinky for Jameelah to shake, then bent down cupping her hand around her ear. “Remember to use your whisper voice if you don’t want people to hear honey, ok?”

Jameelah then very carefully leaned over, still sitting on the counter, and whispered into her ear. “Uncle Clay looks at you the same way that Flynn looks at Rapunzel, is he your Prince?”

Emma felt her cheeks going red, and looked down at Jameelah and responded in a normal tone of voice. “What? You’re being silly,” Emma could feel everyone staring at her, but refused to make eye contact. Jameelah wiggled on the counter before leaning back in to whisper again. “He looks at you like daddy looks at mommy, are you gonna get married?”

Teasingly Emma responded, “I don’t know Jameelah, should I ask him that?”

The men in the room all chuckled when Jameelah leapt into Emma’s arms, wrapping her thin arms tightly around her neck. Wincing slightly as her hair was pulled, Emma supported the girl underneath her butt, giggling along with her, cheeks still bright red.

“No,” Jameelah wailed. “You can’t, it’s a secret for a reason Emmie!”

“Ok honey, I won’t tell,” Emma said, snuggling her close. “Why don’t we go back and finish the rest of the movie?”

“Ok, but you gotta come watch with me!” The girl squealed. All of her favorite people were in the same room and she was getting to watch her favorite movie, it was definitely a good night for the little girl. 

Settling the girl back down on the couch, Emma heard the men chuckling in the kitchen at her antics. Sometimes all you needed was to be reminded of what you were fighting for, Jameelah and RJ fit the bill exactly. Emma wasn’t really paying much attention to the characters on the screen, but when Jameelah pulled at her sleeve before she could leave to go back into the kitchen, she saw the characters in the boat, a scene that Jameelah liked to act out with Emma.

“Emmie, sing! It’s the song!” Jameelah exclaimed, climbing over onto Emma’s lap.

Emma felt her heart sink to her shoes. The last thing she felt like doing was singing, even if it was only in her living room surrounded by her family. “Oh honey, I don’t know. Why don’t we dance instead? You can be the princess?” Jameelah pouted but scrambled off the couch, waiting for Emma to lift her up. 

Pretending to mock bow to Jameelah, Emma didn’t see the boys watching her and Jameelah dance around the living room. Jameelah stood on her feet as Emma led them in a very basic waltz before singing to the ending of the song and swinging her up to give her a kiss on her cheek. When the song finally ended, Jameelah turned to see Uncle Ray standing against the wall, smiling slightly. 

“Daddy!” Running over to him, she was scooped into his arms, quickly forgetting that there was even a movie playing. 

With Jameelah otherwise distracted, Emma turned to look at Clay and Jason, who were both looking at her with small grins on their face. “What?” Emma said, self consciously.

Shaking his head, Jason replied, “Nothing. We used to do that when you were young, do you remember?” Memories from years ago of a smaller Emma whirled in his mind, a very tiny, fiery princess who only had eyes for her daddy. How times had changed since she was a child. 

“Yeah, I do. We must have watched Beauty and the Beast more times than I can count,” Emma chuckled at the memory of her and her father dancing just like the Beast and Belle did in the movie. Moving towards the kitchen, Emma went back to get some of dinner dished out before Mikey came home from practice. Grabbing plates from the cabinet, she felt rather than saw Clay wrap his arms around her. 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Clay was in awe of the girl in his arms. Even while trying to rebuild her life, she took the time to be kind to Jameelah. 

“I’m not, but thank you anyways.” Twisting around to face him, she kissed his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. Neither of them were paying attention to the men in the living room watching them, only in their own little bubble.

Clay worried about Emma all morning, barely keeping his head in the game while they were out running drills with Delta. All of those worries and fears swirled in his head while he was away from Emma, but once she was back in his arms, they all melted away. Dropping his head on top of Emma’s Clay inhaled the sweet scent of her hair before pulling away, grabbing the plates right out of her hands.

“Clay!” Emma protested, she wasn’t an invalid, she could put food onto a plate. 

“Come on now Sunshine, don’t argue with Rainbow, we’re gonna take care of everything for a little while.” Sonny said softly, a small smile on his face while he watched them from the living room with Ray standing next to him. They were both silent while Clay and Emma stood in their embrace, but while watching them they couldn’t help the grins that were coming over their faces. Rarely did they see Clay at peace, or as happy as he was when he was with Emma Hayes.

“Uncle Sonny, I know you all want to help and I’m grateful for it, but don’t treat me like glass. I promise that I can handle getting Mikey’s plate ready, he’s gonna be home soon and he’s like dad, if he doesn’t eat after working out he gets cranky.”

“Alright but after that I want you to sit and relax, Uncle Eric is coming by later with Aunt Lisa,” Ray interjected, wanting to avoid an argument. 

Emma nodded, but before she could get anything on the plate, a knock came at the door. Looking at Clay to follow her, she moved to open the door, unsure of anyone that would knock. All of her family would have just walked right on in, not bothering to knock. Looking through the peephole, Emma was relieved to see who was on the other side of the door. 

“Uncle Charlie!” Emma threw herself at him, happy that he had stopped by, hopefully with some good news.

“Sir,” Clay said, standing at attention, in slight disbelief that Emma was comfortable enough with the Captain to give him a bear hug in her home.

“Spenser,” Harrington said with a nod. “Who’s home Emma? Everyone?” 

“We’re waiting on Uncle Trent and Uncle Brock, they went out to go pick up Mikey from practice.”

“And your daddy?” Harrington was deliberately avoiding mentioning anything before he could talk to Jason.

“Right here sir,” Jason appeared next to Clay, confused as to why a Captain was in his house unannounced, hugging his daughter.

“Why don’t we go into the kitchen. Uncle Charlie, we just got dinner if you’re hungry?” Emma tried to move everyone away from the door. She had spotted James’s truck in the driveway, but they hadn’t come in yet. That either meant something really good or something really bad, but either way, they didn’t need an audience. 

“I’m alright Emma, Aunt Betty would have my hind if I ate before going home, tonight’s pizza night.” Walking with his around her shoulder, neither of them saw the confused look on Jason’s face.

“You knew about this?” Jason cornered Clay, hoping that he was just as in the dark.

“I had no idea, how the hell did she get his number? Did you know about this?”

Jason shook his head, trying to figure out when exactly Emma had gotten involved in the world he was so desperate to keep her from. “I don’t know kid, why is she playing politics and why did no one know about it?” Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen to find Emma seated at the table, drinking a glass of water and listening to Harrington tell her a story from his glory days in the navy. His kid had a lot of explaining to do, hell there were a lot of people that had some explaining to do.    


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you enjoyed, please drop me a review and tell me what you liked! As always stay safe and happy reading


	10. Chapter Ten

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “You knew about this?” Jason cornered Clay, hoping that he was just as in the dark.  
> “I had no idea, how the hell did she get his number? Did you know about this?”  
> Jason shook his head, trying to figure out when exactly Emma had gotten involved in the world he was so desperate to keep her from. “I don’t know kid, why is she playing politics and why did no one know about it?” Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen to find Emma seated at the table, drinking a glass of water and listening to Harrington tell her a story from his glory days in the Navy. His kid had a lot of explaining to do, hell there were a lot of people that had some explaining to do.

Turning into the parking lot for the base, Emma let out a deep breath as she parked. This was the last place she wanted to be, especially on a day where she was supposed to be in class, taking an exam.

But much like her father, when the call came, she went. Getting her college bills paid for was more important than taking an English exam that she was sure she would pass. It was one thing that she could do to make things a little easier for her family, for her dad, for Mikey. It was a little extra work, scheduling her classes and working with her teachers to make sure that she graduated on time.

But it was worth it. 

It had to be worth it.

Emma swiped her badge to the long-forgotten door on the opposite side of the base and eagerly stepped into the briefing room. The sooner that she got in and did her work, the sooner she could get home. As she settled down into her cubicle, Emma set up her monitor and popped in her earbuds, actively avoiding the eager stares of the man sitting behind her. From the very first day that she started working in intelligence, Eliott Richards had stared at her, almost unblinkingly. No matter how many times she glared or ignored him, quite pointedly, he never got the hint.

It didn’t matter, she was there to do her job and go home. Creepy men not included. 

The clips started and time flew by, and soon enough Emma had a small notebook full of information that was sure to go to some unlucky team. Hopefully it wouldn’t be Bravo, though it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. There were times that Emma could have sworn that she heard rumblings between the guys of information that she uncovered, but she could never be sure.

And she sure as hell wasn’t going to bring up that she knew some of the hell holes that they went to and what they were walking into. Not on her life. 

Home life was separate from work life. 

Or at least that’s what she kept telling herself. It was getting harder and harder each day for Emma to make sure that she wasn’t bringing work home and for the first time in her life, she could empathize with her dad. 

She had always seen her mom’s side of the story, how Jason was never home and even when he was home it wasn’t  _ all _ of him. But now that the tables were turned… it was getting harder and harder to make sure that Mikey still had all of her at home. He deserved at least that much.

By the time she finally logged off and turned in her work, it was midday and Emma was starving and more than ready to get out the dank intelligence office that she had found herself in. Emma waved goodbye to her supervisor and dug through her bag, hoping that there was some sort of snack hidden in the pockets, not paying attention to where she was going until she was on the floor. 

“Oof,” Emma huffed, dazed. 

“I’m sorry there, I wasn’t really lookin’ where I was going, I didn’t mean nothin’ - Sunshine?”

“Uncle Sonny?”

“What are you doin’ here? Isn’t today a school day?”

Emma blinked for a moment, before taking the outstretched hand in front of her face. While it wasn’t unusual for her to run into any of her uncles, or really anyone part of her Bravo family, she was expecting them to wander so far from the DEVGRU portion of the base. As she straightened herself up, Emma thought about what she wanted to say to Sonny, if she wanted to say something to him at all. Even though he and Clay had made up, and for that she was grateful, it didn’t mean that she had forgiven him. 

The two of them stood awkwardly together, neither one speaking. Emma could see Sonny getting visibly uncomfortable with the silence, but until he had something to say about how he treated her, she wasn’t interested in hearing what he had to say.

Just when she was about to walk away, her stomach growled and Sonny saw his opening. “Come on, Sunshine. Just one meal. Remember the ice cream dates when you were small?”

Emma nodded, unable to force herself to be cold to Sonny. Not for very much longer anyways. 

* * *

* * *

Sonny led the way down to the base cafeteria, desperately wracking his brain for something that he could say to Emma. anything really. There was a time when Emma would be talking a mile a minute just to get a chance for Uncle Sonny to share a funny story or some wise Texas wisdom, but looking at his niece, you would never guess that she once exuded life.

She was serious, shoulders slumped, even her bright smile was dimmed. 

The breath shot of his chest when he realized that  _ this _ was what Clay and Jason were talking about. This wasn’t the girl that he remembered and certainly not the same person that called him Uncle Sonny.

Whoever this stranger was needed to  _ go _ , and leave behind his Sunshine in her place. 

“Alright Sunshine, spill. Why are ya here on base?”

“I work for the extra portion of my GI bill, so that school is paid for and dad doesn’t have to worry as much,” Emma said, popping another french fry into her mouth. “Turns out having desirable skills is a good thing when you’re trying to squeeze more money out of the government.”

“I’m sorry, ya do what now?” Sonny asked in disbelief. Surely Emma didn’t mean that she was working full time while she was still in school so that they could pay for college. They would have chipped in towards the bill if they knew. In a heartbeat. But it didn’t look like Jason or even Emma’s pride would have allowed that, they were too stubborn to take what they viewed as charity. 

“My GI bill only covered a portion of school, no matter where I went and I couldn’t get approved for any loans on this short of notice, so to cover the difference, I work for a portion of the intelligence wing using my ‘special skills’ to assist with some of the intelligence that they’re bringing.”

“So, you’re a spook then?” Sonny blurted out, then immediately regretted his words when Emma’s face shuttered over again, much like Clay’s did when he didn’t want to talk about something. 

“No, Uncle Sonny, I’m not a spook. I’m just working on translating videos. I have no interest in joining the CIA and I’m not going to up and disappear on you.”

“And you’ve clearly had that conversation before, haven’t ya?”

“Clay wasn’t too happy when I told him either, but it’s what’s going to work for my family and I’ll make it work for my relationships as well, not that that’s any of your business.”

“You got one thing right there, little lady. Your relationship...it’s not any a’ my business, and I got something to say that I’m hopin’ you’ll let me get out before pullin’ me by the ear like Davis tends to do when I’m being stupid.”

“You’re going to say it whether I want you to or not, Uncle Sonny, just get it off your chest.”

_ Clearly, you’re gonna have to work a little harder than just a simple spit shine, _ Sonny thought to himself. Emma was clearly pissed off and a few cute words weren’t going to solve the problem. “I think you’re old enough to hear a motto of mine: when you fuck up, you own up, and Sunshine I fucked up bad here. I took out a frustration on you and Wonder Boy that you both didn’t deserve and ended up hurtin’ you, and for that I’m sorry.”

“I just don’t get it, Uncle Sonny. Why are you so frustrated by the two of us being happy? What did the two of us ever do to you?”

“You two didn’t do anything,  _ you  _ didn’t do anything, I’m just having a hard time, uh, figuring out that I can’t fix ya with just a cup of ice cream. I don’t know how to be your Uncle Sonny when it seems like you’re not quite my Sunshine anymore. Everything’s changed.”

Sonny saw Emma think about her words and not for the first time, he was reminded of Alana when she wanted to make sure that what she was saying had meaning. “I know that a lot of things aren’t the same, but Sonny, I’m the same person. I’m still your Sunshine, but I need your help to make sure that  _ my  _ Sunshine comes home with you. I don’t know how to describe that I need him, that he keeps me calm, helps me go home to Mikey and be all of the things that he needs me to be. It’s Clay keeping the rain clouds away, not mom, not anymore.”

“I’m sorry it took me so long to see that Sunshine,” Sonny said, taking one last bite of his burger. “But I do, I see it and I’m so sorry that I doubted you. Can you forgive me?”

“It’s not going to be easy, Uncle Sonny, you really hurt me, and you hurt Clay. And I know that Clay won’t ever tell you how much your betrayal hurt him. But it did. I need your word that you aren’t going to hurt him like that ever again. He’s it for me, but Sonny, he’s your brother. You chose someone else over your  _ brother _ , and didn’t even give him a chance to explain. That’s something that isn’t easily forgotten, by anyone. I need your word and then I need you to follow up those words with actions. We  _ cannot _ go through this again, none of us will survive.”

“You have my word, Emma Kate. I won’t hurt  _ either _ of you like that again.” Sonny stared at Emma, trying to convey that he was serious. 

“Good,” Emma said, standing up from her place at the table. “I better go before they find more work for me to do while I’m on base.”

“You sure that you don’t need a ride back?” Sonny couldn’t help but ask.

Emma just shook her head and kissed Sonny’s cheek, heading towards the door. She was more than capable of getting herself home and the sooner that Uncle Sonny realized that she was grown the better. 

Sonny watched Emma walk out and wiped the calm smile off of his face. Gone was the happy-go-lucky uncle that she knew and in his place was the sailor that left no stone turned and was more than happy to yippe-ki-yay as he brought down some of the world’s greatest horrors. 

Stalking back to the cages, Sonny felt the fire burn brighter in his chest. While he was fine and dandy over Sunshine and WonderBoy making a go of it, it was a whole ‘nother matter that he was lettin’ her go and become a, a, a  _ spook _ . That just wasn’t acceptable, no matter how you looked at it. “Spenser!” he roared, tearing through the cages like a tasmanian devil. “Where the hell are you!”

“Whoa, I’m right here Son, what’s the matter?”

“Did you know about this?”

“Know about what?”

“Jason, you know your daughter’s a fuckin’ spook? That she’s being pawned out to the CIA of all the god damn agencies in the world!”

“Son, what are you talking about brother, Emma’s not recruited to the CIA,” Ray said, coming between Sonny and Clay. He was getting awfully tired of stepping between the two of them, but this was just getting ridiculous.

“Then why on God’s green Earth is she translatin’ some secret ass shit for the spooks?”

Clay sighed and scrubbed his hands over his face. He was sure that this would come out, but he wasn’t expecting it to be today. “She’s working for the GI Bill, did she tell you any of that?”

The best thing to do was to try and figure out what he knew and what else he needed to smooth over so that they could move on. They were just starting to get back to normal, they didn’t need any more hiccups.

“Yeah she told me, explained in that no-nonsense tone that Alana taught her that this was the best thing that she could do for her family and that I was to just take it at face value, but that’s a crock a’shit.”

“I didn’t get a chance to even make another decision, Son,” Jason said from the corner. For once he was speaking up not to break up a fight between Clay and Sonny, but to try and reason with an anger that was just bubbling to the surface. Sonny and Alana were closer than any of his men and her death ripped him apart in a way that had never been done before. He was broken down and putting the pieces together took Sonny facing emotions that he would normally cover up with glitter and girls from the champagne room. 

The changes that Emma was making forced him to see that Alana’s death had more effects than any of them realized and they all needed to accept them for what they were: changes, for better or for worse.

“We were dealing with Adam’s death, trying to put the pieces of Bravo back together, and while I was gone, my kids picked themselves up and moved on. Emma figured out a way to make things happen and I didn’t get a say.”

Sonny stopped, trying to think with his brain before opening his mouth. “And you just go along with this Clay?”

“Oh she knows that I don’t like it, I don’t like that she’s adding another thing on to her plate and that she’s working full time, but I dare you to try and make Emma Kate Hayes stop something once she’s decided that she’s doing something.”

Sonny deflated, knowing that Clay was right. If they had found out earlier and tried to stop her, hell woulda froze over.

“Now that we’ve got that sorted, Trent and Brock are waiting for us by the helo pad. We got a long way to go before quitting time.”

* * *

* * *

By the time that classes had finished for the day and Emma had gotten home, the sun had long since set and Mikey was hard at work doing homework upstairs. Every now and then she heard the scrape of his chair on the hardwood when he got frustrated. Her own homework was frustrating her more than she wanted to admit, but it would keep for a bit. The front creaked open and Emma turned to see Clay walking through the door. 

“Hey Emmie K,” he said softly, kissing her lips gently. 

“Hey yourself sailor, have a good day?” she asked, closing her books. Studying would have to wait for another day. 

“I did, but how are you? You alright?”

“I’m good, had to go to base for a little bit, a project got out of hand,” Emma deliberately left things vague to not worry anyone. The last thing she needed was her and Clay getting into another argument over the work they were having her do, which was far more involved than what they originally agreed upon. 

“You sure you’re getting enough rest, have you had dinner?” Clay couldn’t help but push her a little more. The circles under her eyes had darkened and if she lost any more weight Clay was sure that he would be able to count her ribs.

“I’m sure, are the other’s coming tonight?”

“Yeah, they’re on their way. Jace just dropped me off before going to get the pizza. Something about not wanting to see us say hello, but then again I can’t even blame him ‘cause I get to do this,” Clay said, kissing her gently. 

Their kiss escalated slowly, but before they could get too carried away, Emma’s phone rang. Looking apologetically at Clay, Emma walked out onto the porch past Jason to take the call, answering with a clipped “Hayes.”

“She has to go back in?” Jason questioned Clay, practically throwing the pizza boxers across the table. “It really couldn’t wait until tomorrow?”

“She’s not supposed to be working on time sensitive stuff, she’s not even supposed to be translating intel at  _ all _ . It was just supposed to be working in the office and they’re taking advantage of her, Jace. 

“We’ll figure it out, Clay. This isn’t going to be forever, I won’t let her run herself into the ground.”

“I’m gonna go walk her to the car,” Clay sighed, struggling to compose himself. He wanted what Emma wanted, but he wished that it didn’t hurt as badly as it did. For the first time, he was getting a taste of what Emma felt like when he got spun up and he didn’t like it all. It was just another reminder of the fact that Emma was much stronger than anyone else gave her credit for, himself included.

“Em,” Clay called out, wrapping her in his arms. 

“I have to go,” Emma whispered in his chest, not wanting to leave the comfort of his embrace. 

“I know, I’ll be here when you get back.”

Emma sighed and kissed him again before heading towards her car. The longer she spent getting to base the longer it would take for her to get home to Clay. This was just another part of the deal she signed and she wasn’t going to quit now, not when this was her ticket to her future.

And it was a future that she could just start to see coming into fruition, no turning back now.

* * *

* * *

Pulling up to the driveway, Emma let out a sigh of relief tinged with just a little bit of frustration. She was finally home, at almost eleven, but it seemed like the boys had never left. 

Meaning that her wish for a quiet house would be ignored. Nothing good ever came from a driveway full of cars long after they said that they were going to be gone. 

Either something had happened and they were closing ranks, or they were too drunk to drive themselves back home. 

Regardless, she couldn’t stay out in her car all night, or morning, whatever time it was; it was far past time for Emma to be asleep, that was for sure. Emma opened the door as quietly as she could, hoping that no one would see her and she could just crawl into her bed. Instead of a house full of rowdy drunk men crowding around a television or a poker table, she found a dark house. There was the dim glow of the television from the living room, but other than that, it looked just like every other night she came home late when the guys were spun up, empty and silent. 

“Em?” A voice called out, startling her.

“Clay?” Emma whispered, making her way towards the living room. “What are you doing down here?”

“Sonny broke out the booze after you left, Ray took the keys with him back to his house so no one could drive,” Clay said sheepishly through a yawn. “I was waiting for you to get back. How did everything go?”

Emma felt herself flush. Normally it was her waiting for Clay to come home, whether it was from base or some foreign country that he was operating in. For him to be on the other side of the door was comforting, it felt like returning home. Finally he would know what it was to wait by the door, not knowing when the other would return. Which was more than a little dramatic, but still, it was the thought that mattered. 

You never knew what would be the last time you saw someone walking through the front door. 

“It was fine, I got the damn thing done and over with, the intel should go out tomorrow morning and I won’t have to hear about it anymore.” Emma yawned, rubbing at her eyes. The last thing she wanted to do was shower, but the stickiness of her skin combined with the grit in her eyes let her know that skipping one wasn’t quite an option. “Will you be up for a while?”

“Should be, I’m tired but I can stay up for a bit,” Clay responded, sitting up straighter on the couch. The whole reason that he had ‘allowed’ Sonny the guest bedroom was to have some alone time with Emma when she came back. Now that she was finally home, he wasn’t going to let that opportunity go to waste. 

“I’m going to shower, I’ll be back after,” Emma said, kissing him lightly on the forehead. 

Clay nodded, trying to keep his thoughts from straying to a place that he wasn’t prepared to deal with at that present moment. Emma in the shower, preferably with him, was a frequent thought of his, all warm and wet skin, pressed against his… _ Control yourself Spenser! _ He thought to himself, managing to squeak something out as Emma walked up the stairs. He could distantly hear the sound of the pipes creaking to life upstairs, but try as he might Clay couldn’t keep his eyes open. Ten minutes passed, then twenty, and soon enough the period of time that Clay had his eyes open were shorter than the ones his eyes were closed. She was home safe and he would see her in the morning. Clay stretched out on the chaise portion of the unfairly comfortable couch and let himself drift off to the pleasant dreamland he created where only he and Emma existed. 

By the time Emma had finished her shower, the bathroom was thick with steam and Emma felt more relaxed than she had in days. Of course, after spending almost a half hour pampering herself, she should feel relaxed. After too many days of not washing her hair or taking care of herself, it was nice to have this time to focus on Emma Kate and no one else. Too tired to care about anything other than crawling into bed, Emma threw on a pajama top and shorts and padded down the stairs, stopping first to peak in on Mikey, surrounded by Brock and Trent on the futon with Cerberus. Standing at the top of the stairs, she could hear her dad’s faint snores from behind his bedroom door combined with Sonny’s from the guest room and smiled. Everyone was home with her, but she was going to what she considered her home just around the corner. 

Clay was slumped against the couch cushion and for a moment it looked like he was still awake, waiting for her. But when she came closer, the gentle rise and fall of his chest and soft snores gave him away. 

He fell asleep but damn was he cute, all soft curls and gentle smiles. Emma would never tell him, but Clay turned into a little boy when he was sleeping and it never failed to endear him to her, even when he was being an ass. Emma settled gently next to him on the chaise, tugging some of the blanket towards her. If Clay had managed to wait all this time for her to come down, she could spend the night on the couch with him. 

“Babe,” Clay mumbled sleepily, turning towards Emma and wrapping his arm around her waist.

“Shh,” Emma murmured, nestling into his neck. “Go to sleep, I’m here.”

Clay eased back into the couch, eyelashes fluttering against his cheeks. The only thing better than having Emma in his dream world was having her in his arms for real. 

How he ever got so lucky, Clay would never know but as long as he lived, he wouldn’t stop being grateful to have Emma in his life. 

* * *

* * *

The fog on the windows acted like a cloud surrounding them, separating Emma and Clay from the outside and leaving them in the perfect bubble of his truck and the sensations they were creating together. Emma was placing sweet kisses to his neck and nibbling at the spot that drove him crazy with lust. It was a scene that featured heavily in his dreams and tonight was no exception. 

Clay allowed himself to move freely, let his hands wander where they wanted, down her back and over her stomach, fingers creeping underneath the shirt that she wore. It was always a variation on the same, they were in his car and Emma was on his lap and everything was perfect. 

There was no curfew, no insecurities, and definitely no need to stop. 

“Clay, don’t stop,” Emma groaned in his ear and his hands made their way to her breasts. “I want more.”

Clay was more than happy to oblige, hips thrusting against Emma while his hands cupped her breasts, rolling over her nipples with his thumbs. “You like that babe, like when I have my hands on you, making you feel good?” Clay panted in her ear, daring to pinch her nipple gently with one hand while the other rested on her bare stomach, right above the waistband of her leggings. 

“I love it, you make me feel so good, babe,” Emma replied, grabbing his wrist in an attempt to force his hand lower. 

Clay continued to toy with her breasts as he sucked at her neck, leaving Emma panting, moaning his name in his ear. “Clay, Clay  _ Clay. _ ”

Peeking to make sure that Emma was still comfortable and definitely consenting, Clay felt the dream pull away, leaving him on the couch with Emma in his arms and his hands in places they had definitely never wandered before. 

For a second he thought that his dream had morphed into something else, but the television playing infomercials in the early morning dawn combined with the slight crick in his neck told him otherwise. 

Then there were the moans. 

Emma’s soft groans and mewls featured heavily in his dreams. But these sounded different from fantasies that his mind had conjured. They were needy and strained and entirely unlike the bashful sounds he managed to draw from her the last time they were together. 

This time the moans he heard dripping from Emma’s mouth were  _ real. _

* * *

* * *

Emma was warm, drifting in the land between being fully awake and fully asleep, content in Clay’s arms. The sky was still dark and Emma was more than happy to drift back to sleep until she actually had to get up for the day. Snuggling into Clay, Emma let herself press as close to him as she could get, craving the strength and comfort he provided. Just as she was drifting off to sleep again, her eyes shot open.

If she wasn’t awake before, she was definitely wide awake now. 

Clay was pressed up against her, hot breath on her neck and his hands splayed out on her body. One cupping her breast in his hand and the other resting right above the waistband of her sleep shorts. 

And that was definitely not his gun pressing against her ass. 

Emma couldn’t move, could scarcely breathe. Simultaneously wanting Clay to wake up and  _ do  _ something and stay asleep so that he wouldn’t move from the position that they were in right now. Fidgeting slightly, Emma tried to twist her neck around to see if Clay was awake, although she wasn’t really sure what she would say if he actually was awake. This was very clearly further than they had gone before, but at the same time it felt like they were always stuck in the same place.

They kissed, touched, briefly, if at all, and that was it. And damn it, Emma wanted more than that. She wanted to know what it would feel like for Clay to lose some of the control that he held onto so tightly. Wanted to know what it would be like if she and Clay were on equal playing fields and he didn’t have to teach her so many things just so they could be together. 

Clay stirred in his sleep, but settled down quickly and Emma resigned herself to the fact that she was just going to be hot and bothered until he woke up and would have to figure out how to  _ take care of things _ on her own later. But try as she might, Emma couldn’t stop thinking about what exactly his hands could do if they moved just an inch or two lower or how good it would feel like Clay’s hands were under her shirt. 

“Clay,” Emma whispered, hoping it would be like when she was a kid and wanted her mother to wake up in the middle of the night. “Babe,” she said, voice breaking into a bit of whine when his hand started moving on her breast.

Clay paid her no mind, face nestling into her neck as his hot breath fanned against her neck. As his hands began to move, Emma was surprised at the differences in his movements. These were not the tender, sometimes tentative, caresses that Clay had shown her in the previous times they were together. These were firmer, harder, insistent. 

When Clay’s hand started to drift lower than her waistband of her sleep shorts, Emma felt like she could hardly breathe. His large hand cupped between her legs and Emma let a whine that didn’t even sound like her own voice. 

“Clay,” Emma begged, mewling softly while trying to figure out how to  _ move _ . She needed to do something or she was going to explode. 

“Em,” Clay said sleepily into her ear, shifting against her back. 

Clearly, he wasn’t awake enough to realize what was happening, but that suited Emma just fine. Emma ground her ass into Clay, relishing the feeling of his arm tightening around her and the warmth of his cock against her pajama shorts, even through the sweats that he had worn to sleep. 

Emma felt the exact moment that Clay woke up and realized what was happening. His arm tightened around her waist, moving to ‘safe’ locations as Clay tried to put as much space between them as he could manage on the couch cushion. 

“Babe, no, don’t stop,” Emma muttered, twisting and searching for his mouth, sliding her legs between his. 

“Em, what are we doing?” Clay said, voice still thick with sleep. 

“Shh,” Emma hushed, kissing him softly, trying to keep him calm. Their lips met over and over and Clay relaxed into her again, arms settling low on her back, though his fingers were still tracing that damn waistband. Emma itched for him to touch her, wanted to feel his hands on her,  _ in  _ her, but didn’t know how to ask. 

Maybe it was time to just show him what she wanted. 

Reaching behind her, Emma dragged one of his hands under her shirt and placed it on her breast, fully expecting to hear some sort of statement about how it was too soon or that it was too fast or some other nonsense. 

But Clay didn’t say a word, he gazed down at her and squeezed gently, still slightly more gentle with her than when he was asleep, to Emma’s frustration. 

“Good Morning Emmie K,” Clay said, pinching her nipple lightly with his fingers. 

“Morning babe, you seemed like you were,  _ oh _ , having an interesting dream,” Emma got out, still struggling to express her desire fully. 

Clay nodded against her forehead, he was having a good dream but this was better than any dream. Having her in his arms, face flushed with pleasure… nothing could compare. 

“Wanna share what you were dreaming about?” Emma asked, pushing her hips towards him, looking for any sort of friction that would ease the ache between her legs. 

Clay debated with himself for a minute, unsure of whether he wanted to share that tidbit of information with her, but her soft moans and mewls egged him on. “I was dreaming about you, Ms. Emma Kate,” he teased, kissing down her throat. “Touching you, kissing you, hearing you moan my name just as I was about to touch you.”

Emma didn’t want to wait any longer, couldn’t wait for him to realize that she wanted more than what she was getting. “I want that,  _ please  _ Clay,” she begged, twisting around again so that her ass was pressed against his front. “Please, just touch me.”

Clay bit at the spot behind her ear and rutted against her a few times, trying to think of a way that he could touch her without losing his cool or having anyone overhear them, but it was hard to keep his mind clear. It wasn’t exactly an ideal location for them to explore this part of their relationship, but Clay didn’t think that Emma would be receptive to them stopping just yet. At least they would be able to hear anyone coming down the steps before they saw anything they weren’t supposed to see. 

“Clay, please,” Emma cried out, grabbing his wrist to try and force his hand down between her legs again. 

“Shhh,” Clay whispered in her ear, plucking at her nipple while trying to soothe her. When her hand grabbed his wrist, Clay followed her lead, allowing his hand to travel across the smooth plane of her belly and over her pelvis, rubbing his thumb over her hip bones. “Baby, tell me where you want me to touch you.”

Clay wanted, wanting to see what Emma would say, if she even knew what to say. Clay was testing out a theory, hoping that he hadn’t read the situation wrong. The few times that they had been together, Emma seemed to enjoy the slightly  _ raunchier _ comments he had made.

“Anywhere, Clay.” Emma was breathing hard and if Clay wasn’t going to move his hands to where she wanted to, she would do it herself. Dragging her hand down past Clay’s, Emma slipped two fingers into her undies, petting gently, not knowing how to touch herself, she just wanted something to stop the ache between her legs.

Clay snatched her hand out of her undies, sliding his hand in to replace it. “I’ll touch you, Em, all you had to do was ask,” he growled into her ear, pressing her closer to him. “Is this where you want me?”

“ _ Yes,”  _ Emma whined, wiggling impatiently. The rough calluses on his hands were creating delicious friction and he wasn’t even moving. 

Clay kissed and sucked on her neck, tugging on her earlobe as his finger swept through her folds. “I love seeing you like this, you’re so beautiful Em.” Clay kept his touch light, keeping an eye out for any sign of discomfort or unease. As they spent more time together, Clay began to learn Emma’s body. But no matter how long they had been together or how many afternoons that devolved into make out sessions on his couch, Clay always wanted her to consent, especially when they were continuing to push the envelope. 

Rubbing against her clit gently with his thumb, Clay let one of his fingers start to probe gently at her opening, testing the waters. Emma’s mouth dropped open and she whined low in her throat as his finger inched forward. Clay stopped to breathe for a moment, collecting himself. She was warm, and hot, and wet around him panting in his ear and all he could think about was Emma wrapped around a different part of his body. 

“Clay, if you don’t start doing  _ something _ , I’m going to explode,” Emma said, wiggling her hips, brushing against his cock with every shift of her hips. 

“Emmie K, you want me to touch you, want my fingers inside of you, making you feel good?” Clay whispered in her ear, brushing his thumb against her clit while one finger sunk into her pussy. 

Emma keened, head thrown back while she panted into his ear. Underneath the blanket they were hidden away from the world and all Emma could think about what the sensation that Clay was creating. The searing heat from his hands combined with the pressure was too much for her mind to process. 

“Clay,” Emma whined, bucking her hips to try and get his finger to move faster. 

“If you want something Emma, you have to ask for it,” Clay teased, sliding his finger back and forth slowly, while his thumb tapped a rhythm out on her clit. 

“I don’t, I want,  _ Clay _ ,” Emma said, grabbing his wrist. 

Clay paused, thinking about how he could get Emma to verbalize what she wanted. While he would love more than anything to take control and show Emma exactly what he wanted to do with her, she needed to learn what she liked and, more importantly, how to ask for it. 

“Em, do you like when I do this?” he asked, rubbing her clit, first in circles, then tapping, before pressing firmly up and down, testing to see which produced the best reaction.

Emma nodded, stifling her moans when Clay pressed against her firmly. “I like, like that one, babe,” Emma moaned. “ _ Harder. _ ”

Clay grinned as he sucked on her neck, doing his best not to mark her too deeply. He followed her lead, pressing against her firmly. When Emma began to shake, Clay let go of the pressure on her clit.

“Why, why, why,” Emma cried out, reaching for Clay. 

“Were you close, Em, about to come on my fingers?” Clay questioned in her ear, selfishly pressing his own cock to her ass. Emma wiggled back and forth, feeling his cock settle in between her legs. 

“ _ Yes!”  _ Emma hissed, shaking her head back and forth. “Please Clay, touch me, I want your fingers in me.”

Clay didn’t hesitate to comply, one finger, then two. “Move your hips Em, find a rhythm that makes you feel good,” Clay coached her, keeping his hand steady for her. “You can do it, babe, make yourself feel good, use my fingers.”

Emma bit her lip, concentrating on thrusting her hips against his hand. “Clay, your fingers,  _ oh god _ , right there,” she moaned brokenly when his fingers curled against a spot deep inside her pussy that she didn’t even know she could reach. 

She came with a silent cry, clenching around his fingers wishing that they could be together fully but grateful that they found a pocket of time together. While she was coming down from her high, Clay stroked up and down her sides, doing his best to keep from pressing his hips against hers. Emma had gotten off, but Clay was still hard and wanting. 

He never felt that Emma had to reciprocate, but seeing her fall apart in his arms made him more desperate than ever to find that release. 

Still shaking, Emma turned towards Clay and kissed him gently before snaking a hand in between them, intending on giving Clay the same pleasure that she just received. But Clay caught her wrist gently, "Em, you pull those pants down and we're not going to be quiet for long" He looked at her, knowing that he would still stop her even if she was insistent that they keep going. His girl liked to plow through things head on, but sometimes it was better to take things slowly. And they had pushed the envelope far enough already.

"But you didn't…" Emma said, wondering if she was supposed to reciprocate.

"That's ok honey, I can take care of this myself," Clay settled back down on the couch, tugging her close to his side. Lying down next to Clay, she kissed him lightly. "Thank you Clay."

Deciding not to argue and tell her that she didn't have to thank him, Clay just kissed her and got up from the couch, intent on finding a quiet spot to take care of business.

"Hey Clay?" Emma called from the couch, stopping him before he could open the door to the bathroom. Getting off the couch she walked towards him, and wrapped her arms around his waist and tilted her head up to look at him, still flushed with her chest heaving.

"Yeah Emmie K," Clay squeaked out, not sure where she was going with this.

"Think of me in there," She whispered before taking one hand sliding it down between their bodies once more, resting it just above the waistband of his boxers.

Gasping, Clay retorted, "Don't you worry about that one Em, you're the only one I'll be thinking of, those moans of yours…" He trailed off as Emma grasped the pronounced bulge in her hand before pulling her away. "Emmie K," he groaned, shutting his eyes at the sensation of her delicate hand wrapped around him.

"Now you can go," Emma kissed him, lying back down against the couch cushion. The longer she laid there, the more she convinced herself that she could hear Clay moan in the bathroom, but exhaustion took hold once more and Emma drifted off again. Just before sleep could officially claim her, Emma felt Clay slip in behind her once more, and to Emma, there was nothing more perfect than her and Clay going to sleep and waking up together. 

Along with all of the stuff in between, of course. 

Emma really liked the in between stuff. 

* * *

* * *

Blinking in the early morning light, Emma panicked for a minute, not remembering where she was or how she ended up somewhere that wasn’t her bedroom. The couch was unusually crowded and it took Emma longer than she wanted to admit to remember what had happened in the early morning hours. 

But then the memories came rushing back and Emma leaned further into Clay’s strong chest, wishing that they could wake up like this every morning. Preferably with the orgasm added into the mix, that was for sure pretty great. 

Emma closed her eyes again, the time blinking on the cable box was far too early for her to be awake and she had another hour and a half before she really had to get up for class. She could afford to sleep in a little. Just as she was drifting off to sleep, she heard voices in the kitchen and her heart began to pound in her chest. 

“Son!”

“Listen here, Ms. Davis. No one is awake yet and I, for one, have missed you.” Emma took a chance and peaked around the edge of the couch to see Lisa sitting around the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee while Sonny was rummaging through the cabinets before she returned to her hiding place. 

“I know that Son, I miss you too. But maybe this isn’t the best place to be sneaking around,” Lisa got up from the table and stood next to him, slightly hidden behind the pantry door.

“Davis, we’re not sneaking. Sunshine and Wonder Boy are still curled up over there like two rolly pollies and I doubt they’re gonna be waking up any time soon. One little kiss isn’t gonna hurt nobody.”

The kitchen was silent, and Sonny scoffed. “I didn’t say nothin’ mean, they are curled up like that and you know it.”

“Be nice,” Lisa scolded. Emma was never so grateful as to have a women in her life that understood what her pseudo uncles were like, they were a handful and Lisa Davis saw that more than most women. And dealt with it every day to boot. 

If anyone could wrange Uncle Sonny into submission, it was Lisa Davis.

The kitchen was silent again, and Emma couldn’t resist looking again to see Sonny and Lisa kissing gently. Maybe Emma and Clay weren’t the only ones that were exploring a relationship.  _ Good to know _ , Emma thought to herself, thinking of the ways she could use this information. While she didn’t always life to blackmail people, it sure came in handy when little brothers were being annoying. Surely the same principle could apply to annoying uncles. 

“Someone’s up, Son,” Lisa said, pulling away from Sonny. But before she could move out of the kitchen and discover Emma awake on the couch, Emma decided to make her presence known by walking into the kitchen, intent on finding some of the coffee that Lisa had made.

“Morning,” Emma said with a fake yawn, secretly pleased that she had found them together. If anyone deserved happiness, it was Aunt Lisa. The woman had to be a saint for dealing with all of the men on Bravo on a daily basis. 

“Morning Sunshine, how’d you sleep?” Sonny stuttered out, not knowing how much Emma heard or saw, or really what to say to her. They had worked out all of their issues yesterday, laid all of the cards out on the table, yet Sonny still felt awkward. Standing in front of him was the same Emma Kate that he had known, but she was different and he didn’t know what to make of it. How could someone be the same and different all at the same time?

“Better than usual Uncle Sonny, which was nice. All of you are home safe.” Emma fixed her coffee, not noticing the look of concern that Sonny gave to Lisa. The girl had maybe slept for six hours and was up and functioning like she did this regularly. “You making the Quinn special for breakfast this morning?”

“You betcha Sunshine, you want your normal order?” The first time that Sonny had met Mikey and Emma, they were both small. One day after an OP had gone bad and Jason ended up with twelve stitches in his gut, he made his way over to the Hayes’ house intent on cheering up the kids with some breakfast, which is about all Sonny Quinn knew how to make. Ever since that day, Emma asked for it when Sonny was over in the morning. 

“If you don’t mind Uncle Sonny, I can make breakfast if you want me too,”

“Absolutely not, you sit your tiny little behind down on that chair and let me do some of this work for a change.”

Emma squawked in protest, then looked at the time on the microwave. “Shit, I have to get Mikey up for school.” Looking longingly at her cup of coffee, she got up from her chair and began heading towards the stairs before being interrupted by Sonny, again. 

“Little Miss, Aunt Lisa here is gonna go wake up Mikey and bring him to school for the day. You are going to sit your little butt down and finish your coffee before the rest of the heathens drink it all. Then you’re going to eat your breakfast that I am ever so lovingly slaving over. And no, you are not going to do the dishes, Brock is on KP duty today.” Sonny redirected Emma over to her chair and pushed her down into it and sighed internally. This girl was stretched thin, but getting her to accept any sort of help was going to be a challenge. 

“Aunt Lisa, do you mind?” Emma still had to make sure that it was ok, not wanting to assume anything. 

“Yeah Em, no worries.” Lisa patted the girls shoulder gently as she looked at her face. The dark circles under her eyes were pronounced, making it look like Emma hadn’t slept, even though she knew that Emma had knocked out on the couch with Clay. Walking up the stairs, Lisa opened Mikey’s door to find the boy still asleep in his bunk, with Brock and Cerberus asleep on the top bunk. Shaking Mikey awake, she looked up to Brock’s inquisitive face staring down at her and Cerberus giving off a soft whine. Lisa mouthed ‘school’ and Brock nodded, intent on getting up and finding out where the rest of his brothers had slept.

“Sonny downstairs?” Brock asked while Lisa attempted to get the boy out of bed.

“Yeah, see if you can find the rest of the boys, breakfast is almost done. Emma is up already, but I doubt she’s going to school today. I think I’ll be able to convince her to take the day off,” Lisa said, musing as she shook Mikey awake. Emma needed to take a break, get some  _ real _ rest for a change. 

Brock wandered down the hallway and ran into Clay, pink skinned and fresh from the shower. “You see Trent yet?” Clay asked still slightly disheveled from the morning’s events. The last thing he remembered was dreaming of Emma only to woken with the lovely sight of Sonny Quinn in his boxers and an apron. 

“Right behind you,” Trent said as he walked out of the bathroom with Jason coming out of the master. 

“How did Emma sleep?” Jason asked, hoping that she wasn’t sick. Or that she didn’t have any nightmares. 

“As well as she could, no nightmares that I know of,” Clay said, looking anywhere but Jason’s face, not wanting to give away anything that had happened that morning.

“Morning Emmie K,” Clay placed a light kiss on Emma’s lip, not caring about the men in the room or their reaction to him kissing Emma. 

When no one said anything, Emma raised her eyebrows at Sonny, half expecting a joke from him about her now being sleeping beauty or some shit. At least Mikey was already being driven to school and didn’t have to witness her being the butt of a joke, again. 

“I’m not gonna say nothing Sunshine, long as he makes you happy, fine by me.” Sonny stopped flipping pancakes to look at Emma, hoping that he could show her that he was being serious. 

Nodding, Emma went back to finish her coffee before getting up to make another cup. The only sounds in the kitchen were those of clinking silverware, each man and woman too tired to make conversation until they had their fill of pancakes, but more importantly, of coffee.

“Emma, do you have anything you need to bring to school today, any tests or projects?” Lisa said, looking at Emma over her cup of coffee.

“No, I have an exam next week, but I should be ok, it’s in English so it’s not too bad, why?” Emma answered unthinkingly, mind going through her to-do list as she ate her pancakes. 

“So then you can take a day off,” Lisa postulated.

“What? No.”

“But you don’t have anything due today, no exams, and you’re going to be fine for the one that you have coming up. Why do you need to go to school when you need your rest?”

“Because I still have other classes that I need to do well in, and because I can’t just skip school whenever I feel like it.”

“You’re not skipping school, you’re taking a mental health day, one I very much think you need,” Lisa said firmly. “Clay, help me out here.”

“Oh I’m not getting in the middle of this,” Clay said through his mouthful of eggs. Turning towards Emma, he said, “I’ll support you in whatever you think is best Em, but I will agree and say you need to rest a little bit. But it’s your decision!” Clay babbled, thinking that no matter what he said he was still wrong. 

Emma wavered, Clay wouldn’t be as open with his feelings in front of everyone. But this was as close as he would get to saying it plainly that he was worried about her. 

“Just take a day Emma, it’s Friday. You’ll get the notes from your classmates and rest all weekend and be ready to go for Monday. I’ll even get Clay to sit with you on the couch until we have to leave,” Lisa wheedled, throwing in that last bit to subtly force her hand. 

Clay opened his mouth to protested, but the eyebrow on Lisa’s face slowly rose as his mouth snapped shut. Clearly, she wasn’t one to be messed with today and it was her way or the highway. 

Emma nodded, pushing her plate towards the middle of the table. She wasn’t going to win this argument, but she had to make sure that everything was taken care of before she could rest. “Ok, but then someone needs to drive Mikey to school, make sure he has two sandwiches and that he knows to turn in his science fair proposal. He has a math test today and needs to get to school early so that he can review with his teacher. And Dad, don’t forget that tonight’s take out night and -”

“Sunshine, go sit your pretty behind on that couch and let the rest of earn our keep. I promise ya, we’ll be fine for one day and so will Mikey,” Sonny said whipping his kitchen towel around as he dried that plates that Brock was washing. 

“But -” Emma started as Clay pulled her towards the couch. She had a system to get everything done and if it didn’t get done, she was letting everyone down. She had to get things done so that life could continue on the same way it had been. 

Emma needed that consistency and was terrified that one small change was going to send her house of cards tumbling to the ground. 

Clay wrapped his arms around her again, pulling her close to his chest and Emma felt her shoulders relax. Her fast beating heart slowed and even though she was sleeping not even two hours earlier, she felt the pull of sleep again, lulled by the reassuring sound of Clay’s heartbeat in her ears. 

* * *

* * *

The next thing that Emma knew, she was blinking in the late afternoon sunlight, with Jameelah curled up next to her on the couch. Looking at the TV, Emma blinked, closed her eyes, opened them again. The time read four thirty in the afternoon, she had slept the entire day away. Hearing a low chuckle, she turned to her right side, trying not to disrupt Jameelah.

“Look who’s awake, have a good nap sweetheart?”

“Aunt Naima! Why did you let me sleep this long?” A slight panic started to creep up in Emma’s shoulders. There were a lot of things that she still had to get done before she went to school tomorrow, she couldn’t afford to miss another day.

“Because clearly you needed it, honey. You’re running yourself ragged here.” Naima, like everyone else, was concerned. She was going to get this girl to talk if it was the last thing that she did. Naima stayed silent, letting the girl flop back onto the couch cushion. “Emma, we need to talk about this” 

“Talk about what?” Emma pouted, looking very much like Jameelah did when she didn’t want to eat her broccoli.

“Why you don’t want to take help from other people. Why you’re trying to do everything by yourself. Why the only people you’re letting in are Clay and your father, and even then, you tell them the things that they can’t help you with. We need to talk about that.”

“I’m not trying to keep them at arm’s length, but there’s nothing that they can help me with when they’re off saving the world. They can’t exactly come over and help me clean the house or make Mikey dinner or figure out how I’m going to be in two different places at once. They can’t do anything about that.”

“Aunt Lisa and I are always around, and even Aunt Darcy is available to you if you need her.” Naima understood where Emma was coming from, the boys were often not home long enough to be much help in that department. 

“I always feel like I’m bothering you guys. You have RJ and Jameelah to worry about, Aunt Lisa is on OPs, and if I call her on the sat phone the boys go nuts. And Aunt Darcy is usually at work or I can’t reach her all the time.” 

“I can’t speak for the others, but honey, I need you to listen when I say this. When Uncle Ray joined Bravo and I met your mama, we both promised each other that if something was to happen to either of our families, that we would look after the others. I take my promises very seriously, and it is one that I intend to keep.”

“Mom really asked that of you?” Emma said quietly, fingering the floral pattern knit into the edge of the blanket. 

“She did, and I asked her to do the same. Bravo is family, and family takes care of one another. Let me honor your mama, let me help you Emma.”

“I don’t even know where to begin, Aunt Naima,” Emma ran her hand through her hair, frowning when she met some snarls 

“Well, then I’ll take something off your plate. Let me handle picking up Mikey.”

“You’re sure you want to do that Aunt Naima, with Jameelah’s schedule and getting RJ to take his naps, I know he’s been fussy -”

“Honey, let me pick up Mikey. I can manage picking someone up and dropping him off here or taking him to practice. That gives you more time to focus on school and spend time with your friends instead of shuttling back and forth.” Naima waited for a moment and let Emma process, sometimes it worked better if the kids found their own way to the conclusion that she had come up with, most of the time they felt it was their solution in the end and it was a win-win for everyone. “Does that work?” Naima prompted when Emma was still silent. 

“It does, I’m just tired of feeling like a burden,” tears sprung to Emma’s eyes. She wiped them hastily, not wanting to make a scene and wake the sleeping child on her lap.

“Emma Kate Hayes you stop that nonsense right now. If your mama was here she wouldn’t stand for that kind of talk and neither am I.” Naima said firmly, her own heart breaking for the girl. 

“I know I’m not, but I feel like I can’t do anything right. I don’t know what if I’m doing enough for Mikey, I don’t know what I want to do for college, I’m afraid that one day I’m going to get a phone call and lose my dad, or Clay, I can’t even help Hannah. I’m not enough for anyone right now” Tears were steadily dripping down her face as she avoided Naima’s gaze, twisting the blanket in her hands. 

“Baby, you are so enough. Mikey is thriving because of what you are doing for him. Hannah is going to get through this because you were able to get to her in time. We can figure out the college situation, and it doesn’t have to be decided today. You applied to a few schools locally right?” At Emma’s nod, she barreled forward. “Alright, then you and I can go and look at them together and see what programs they have. Surely some of them have music.”

“I don’t want to sing anymore, Aunt Naima. With mom not here… it’s not the same.” Emma hadn’t wanted to admit to anyone that she was feeling so disconnected from a part of her that used to make up a key part of her identity. How could she say that she knew what she wanted in life when all of her plans were meaningless because she had no desire to achieve them. And figuring out who she was after almost nineteen years of knowing  _ exactly _ what she wanted was terrifying. 

“If that’s what you want Em, then we can look at other programs at the schools you applied to, but don’t give up on something you love just because your mama isn’t here to watch you. She’s always here with you baby,” Naima said gently, wishing she could take some of the hurt away from her but knowing that she could never fill in the hole than Alana had left in their lives. 

“I know, but I need to do something that isn’t music. Something that helps people. I have to think about it some more, talk to Clay about it too.”

Naima smiled to herself. Emma and Clay were a frequent topic of conversation between herself and Alana Hayes. Naima thought she was crazy for allowing her teenage daughter to date someone almost ten years older than her, but looking at how Clay looked at Emma? No one could deny that what was there was something special. ,

“Speaking of Clay, the boys told me that they would all be back tonight by six and that they were bringing dinner, but you little lady should eat something before then. I betcha I can round up a snack for you and Jameelah.” Getting up off the couch, Naima walked into the kitchen before turning around to watch Emma tuck Jameelah further into the covers, stroking her hair away from her face.

Naima set a plate of apples and peanut butter down in front of Emma. “Good, and before they get here, we need to talk about one more thing. And I know this is none of my business, but you and Clay…” Naima trailed off, sure that Emma would get the jist of what she was saying. 

Emma went bright red. “Aunt Naima, mom covered that a long time ago. I know all about the birds and the bees.”

“Good, I’m glad. But that wasn’t really what I was talking about honey. If you want to talk about things with me, stuff that you can’t talk to Clay about or your dad, I’m here.” Naima said her piece and decided to let it be, not wanting to make the girl more uncomfortable.

Thankful Jameelah couldn’t figure out awkward tension if it bit her on the nose.

“Emmie?” Jameelah sang as she came wandering into the kitchen, knuckles rubbing her eyes with her stuffed bear underneath her arm.

“Hi pretty girl, have a good nap?” Looking down at the girl, Emma chuckled silently at the bed head she was sporting. 

“Uh huh. I dreamt I was a princess.” Jameelah squeezed her bear tightly, spinning slightly as if she was dancing with her bear.

“Why don’t we watch some princesses then? Daddy should be home soon.” Not waiting for her to make a decision, she grabbed her hand and walked her back into the living room. “I think I have Tangled.”

Princess movies were a common theme when Emma babysat for Aunt Naima and Uncle Ray, so Emma made sure that she kept a few in the house for the random nights when Jameelah and RJ stayed with her. 

“Yeah!” Jameelah snuggled down and let Emma turn on the movie for her, entranced by the music and characters on the screen. Once Emma saw that Jameelah was otherwise occupied, she went upstairs to change out of the pajamas she had worn the previous evening into some comfy leggings and an oversized sweatshirt. Checking on Jameelah before going back into kitchen, Emma grabbed her laptop, she had some work to do to try and determine what the future would hold. Emma was so focused on her search that she didn’t hear the door open or the boys come through the door until she felt Clay’s arms wrap around her shoulders. Tilting her head up, she kissed him, smiling underneath his lips. 

“Hi Emmie K, how are you?” Clay was happy to see that Emma was at the table, looking a little more well rested than she had in the previous weeks.

“Better, turns out all I needed was some sleep and a little bit of tough love from Aunt Naima,” Emma closed her laptop and turned to see who else had come in with Clay. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Trent and Brock went to pick Mikey up from practice, but everyone else is on their way in. I came in first to see if you were awake, Naima hasn’t updated us in a little bit and we didn’t want to wake you.”

The door opened again and Sonny and Jason staggered in carrying bags of takeout with Ray close behind carrying a case of beer. “Uncle Ray, let me help,” Emma surged up from the chair and tried to grab the case of beer from Ray, when he refused she went over to Sonny to try and take a bag of food and was once again denied. 

“Sunshine, just sit down. We’ve got this one. Where are the small ones?” Sonny drawled holding the bag of food high over her head. 

“RJ is upstairs with Aunt Naima, he was being fussy earlier this afternoon. Jameelah is in the living room watching a movie. Are you sure I don’t need to do anything?”

“We’re sure Em, just sit back. What did you do today?” Jason said as he divvied out food onto plates. Mexican takeout wasn’t his favorite choice, but it was Brock’s turn to pick, which usually entailed the spiciest food that they could find. 

“I slept most of the day which was nice, tried to catch up on some school work. Talked over some things with Aunt Naima.”

“Things?” Jason questioned, looking over at Clay. Seeing the puzzled look on his face, it meant that the Kid didn’t know what she was planning. Emma liked to play things close to the vest, but usually Clay knew more than anyone else about Emma’s plans. 

“I have to do some more research before we talk about it,” Emma said looking at her dad. It wasn’t a good idea to tell her dad anything if there wasn’t a formulated plan. “And I wanted to talk to you about it when we got a chance,” Emma said, turning to look at Clay.

“Sure thing Emmie K, we can do that,” He said, squeezing her hand. Just then a small voice called out from the living room. “Emmie?”

Looking at Clay wryly, Emma got up from her chair and walked into the living room to find Jameelah standing in front of the TV. “What’s up pretty girl, you need something?”

“Yeah, can I have some juice?” Jameelah swayed from one foot to the other before following Emma into the kitchen, holding onto the sleeve of her sweatshirt. Once Jameelah got her juice, Emma still thought that she was acting oddly. Glancing at Ray, it seemed that he thought so too, mouthing over her head “What happened?”

Shrugging Emma heaved Jameelah onto her hip, “Anything else going on in that noggin of yours?” Emma didn’t know what she was thinking about, but it had to be good if she was silent. Four year olds were very rarely this quiet. 

“Can I tell you a secret?” Jameelah said, pouting a little bit. 

Grinning, Emma held out her pinky for Jameelah to shake, then bent down cupping her hand around her ear. “Remember to use your whisper voice if you don’t want people to hear honey, ok?”

Jameelah then very carefully leaned over, still sitting on the counter, and whispered into her ear. “Uncle Clay looks at you the same way that Flynn looks at Rapunzel, is he your Prince?”

Emma felt her cheeks going red, and looked down at Jameelah and responded in a normal tone of voice. “What? You’re being silly,” Emma could feel everyone staring at her, but refused to make eye contact. Jameelah wiggled on the counter before leaning back in to whisper again. “He looks at you like daddy looks at mommy, are you gonna get married?”

Teasingly Emma responded, “I don’t know Jameelah, should I ask him that?”

The men in the room all chuckled when Jameelah leapt into Emma’s arms, wrapping her thin arms tightly around her neck. Wincing slightly as her hair was pulled, Emma supported the girl underneath her butt, giggling along with her, cheeks still bright red.

“No,” Jameelah wailed. “You can’t, it’s a secret for a reason Emmie!”

“Ok honey, I won’t tell,” Emma said, snuggling her close. “Why don’t we go back and finish the rest of the movie?”

“Ok, but you gotta come watch with me!” The girl squealed. All of her favorite people were in the same room and she was getting to watch her favorite movie, it was definitely a good night for the little girl. 

Settling the girl back down on the couch, Emma heard the men chuckling in the kitchen at her antics. Sometimes all you needed was to be reminded of what you were fighting for, Jameelah and RJ fit the bill exactly. Emma wasn’t really paying much attention to the characters on the screen, but when Jameelah pulled at her sleeve before she could leave to go back into the kitchen, she saw the characters in the boat, a scene that Jameelah liked to act out with Emma.

“Emmie, sing! It’s the song!” Jameelah exclaimed, climbing over onto Emma’s lap.

Emma felt her heart sink to her shoes. The last thing she felt like doing was singing, even if it was only in her living room surrounded by her family. “Oh honey, I don’t know. Why don’t we dance instead? You can be the princess?” Jameelah pouted but scrambled off the couch, waiting for Emma to lift her up. 

Pretending to mock bow to Jameelah, Emma didn’t see the boys watching her and Jameelah dance around the living room. Jameelah stood on her feet as Emma led them in a very basic waltz before singing to the ending of the song and swinging her up to give her a kiss on her cheek. When the song finally ended, Jameelah turned to see Uncle Ray standing against the wall, smiling slightly. 

“Daddy!” Running over to him, she was scooped into his arms, quickly forgetting that there was even a movie playing. 

With Jameelah otherwise distracted, Emma turned to look at Clay and Jason, who were both looking at her with small grins on their face. “What?” Emma said, self consciously.

Shaking his head, Jason replied, “Nothing. We used to do that when you were young, do you remember?” Memories from years ago of a smaller Emma whirled in his mind, a very tiny, fiery princess who only had eyes for her daddy. How times had changed since she was a child. 

“Yeah, I do. We must have watched Beauty and the Beast more times than I can count,” Emma chuckled at the memory of her and her father dancing just like the Beast and Belle did in the movie. Moving towards the kitchen, Emma went back to get some of dinner dished out before Mikey came home from practice. Grabbing plates from the cabinet, she felt rather than saw Clay wrap his arms around her. 

“You’re amazing, you know that?” Clay was in awe of the girl in his arms. Even while trying to rebuild her life, she took the time to be kind to Jameelah. 

“I’m not, but thank you anyways.” Twisting around to face him, she kissed his cheek before resting her head on his shoulder. Neither of them were paying attention to the men in the living room watching them, only in their own little bubble.

Clay worried about Emma all morning, barely keeping his head in the game while they were out running drills with Delta. All of those worries and fears swirled in his head while he was away from Emma, but once she was back in his arms, they all melted away. Dropping his head on top of Emma’s Clay inhaled the sweet scent of her hair before pulling away, grabbing the plates right out of her hands.

“Clay!” Emma protested, she wasn’t an invalid, she could put food onto a plate. 

“Come on now Sunshine, don’t argue with Rainbow, we’re gonna take care of everything for a little while.” Sonny said softly, a small smile on his face while he watched them from the living room with Ray standing next to him. They were both silent while Clay and Emma stood in their embrace, but while watching them they couldn’t help the grins that were coming over their faces. Rarely did they see Clay at peace, or as happy as he was when he was with Emma Hayes.

“Uncle Sonny, I know you all want to help and I’m grateful for it, but don’t treat me like glass. I promise that I can handle getting Mikey’s plate ready, he’s gonna be home soon and he’s like dad, if he doesn’t eat after working out he gets cranky.”

“Alright but after that I want you to sit and relax, Uncle Eric is coming by later with Aunt Lisa,” Ray interjected, wanting to avoid an argument. 

Emma nodded, but before she could get anything on the plate, a knock came at the door. Looking at Clay to follow her, she moved to open the door, unsure of anyone that would knock. All of her family would have just walked right on in, not bothering to knock. Looking through the peephole, Emma was relieved to see who was on the other side of the door. 

“Uncle Charlie!” Emma threw herself at him, happy that he had stopped by, hopefully with some good news.

“Sir,” Clay said, standing at attention, in slight disbelief that Emma was comfortable enough with the Captain to give him a bear hug in her home.

“Spenser,” Harrington said with a nod. “Who’s home Emma? Everyone?” 

“We’re waiting on Uncle Trent and Uncle Brock, they went out to go pick up Mikey from practice.”

“And your daddy?” Harrington was deliberately avoiding mentioning anything before he could talk to Jason.

“Right here sir,” Jason appeared next to Clay, confused as to why a Captain was in his house unannounced, hugging his daughter.

“Why don’t we go into the kitchen. Uncle Charlie, we just got dinner if you’re hungry?” Emma tried to move everyone away from the door. She had spotted James’s truck in the driveway, but they hadn’t come in yet. That either meant something really good or something really bad, but either way, they didn’t need an audience. 

“I’m alright Emma, Aunt Betty would have my hind if I ate before going home, tonight’s pizza night.” Walking with his around her shoulder, neither of them saw the confused look on Jason’s face.

“You knew about this?” Jason cornered Clay, hoping that he was just as in the dark.

“I had no idea, how the hell did she get his number? Did you know about this?”

Jason shook his head, trying to figure out when exactly Emma had gotten involved in the world he was so desperate to keep her from. “I don’t know kid, why is she playing politics and why did no one know about it?” Shaking his head, he walked into the kitchen to find Emma seated at the table, drinking a glass of water and listening to Harrington tell her a story from his glory days in the navy. His kid had a lot of explaining to do, hell there were a lot of people that had some explaining to do.    



End file.
